According to NBC News, a growing number of school districts (especially in rural areas) are experimenting with a four-day week.
In many cases, school boards can’t raise the funds for competitive salaries and improvise by using the nontraditional schedule as a perk to attract and retain high-quality teachers. Applicants who would otherwise go for the biggest bucks appreciate having an extra day each week for preparing lesson plans, grading tests, taking “Meth-Head Parent As A Second Language” courses, etc.
(Other perks that were considered but ultimately put on the back burner included “Flunk a jock: we’ll get you off with temporary insanity,” “No more paying for school supplies out of your own pocket; our band geeks make a great distraction for snatch-and-run operations at Costco,” “Whatever extracurricular club you’re stuck with sponsoring, feel free to improvise! Did somebody say, ‘mixed martial arts chess’?” and “Background check? Do you IDENTIFY as needing a background check?”)
