Take THAT, voters. We’re closing your schools 1 day a week because you voted against the tax hike . . .

The Iron County Utah school district has something to say: they're going to a 4-day work week because voters didn’t approve $3 million in new taxes.

$3 million may not sound like a lot, but it’s an increase of 10% over 2025. And in 2025 the school district overspent by another 10% without prior approval. Does this help explain why Utah voters are cheesed? See links below.

The population change in Iron County has averaged 2.5% for the past several decades, and it was 2.5% again in 2025. So nobody can claim a bunch of parents migrated from California, and local Utah schools need a big cash infusion to deal with that.

75% of the Iron County school budget is salaries and benefits. I don’t know how this compares to your town, but it seems in the zone. The numbers suggest that Iron County teachers will be getting 10% more salary and benefits in 2026, despite a stable student enrollment. And got 10% more the prior year . . . .

Okay, back to the 4-day school week. How exactly how does this save money? Are there going to be 10% fewer teachers? The same staffing, but teachers get paid 10% less because they have 3 day weekends all the time? The school board is blackmailing parents with the threat of school closures, and has some ‘splaining to do, on their math.

If actually happens – a 4 day school week – it means parents will have to pay for private childcare on those cancelled days. Shifting education costs away from the schools directly to the parents. In the case of middle school and higher students, I suppose the presumption is that they will simply roam the streets or play videogames at home all day.

Please let me correct any misimpression I may be giving that the Iron County Utah school district is bad at whatever it is they’re up to. A 4-day school week may sound insane, but it’s probably a more evolved tax heist than simply threatening to fire a bunch of favorite teachers. That’s the scheme which lots of other school districts try to pull . . .

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Denied its $2.8M tax hike, a Utah district considers four-day school week to save money

Notable items included in the FY2025 Amended and FY2026 Preliminary Budget

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meJess · F

Will the kids learn to read, write and add up in the 4 days or just be told what to think?

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@meJess no one knows what the optimal number of hours or days are for schooling. We know teenagers should not be required to go to high school as early as they are required in most high schools. Hopefully we are teaching children to become critical thinkers and lifelong learners. That is not defined as reading, writing and arithmetic, but I might state is more important.

meJess · F

@samueltyler2 tricky to be a critical thinker or lifelong learner without the ability to read, write or add up.

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@meJess that does depend on the definitions. Some of the most famous critical thinkers of the past were not educated in what we now call school, or at least I don't recall being taught about Aristotle's, Socrates', etc., basic education.

meJess · F

@samueltyler2 both of those wrote their thinking.

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@meJess but, did they learn reading writing and arithmetic in school?

meJess · F

@samueltyler2 in Greece at that time they had tutors.

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@meJess but do we know what they were taught? I only read about one titir and several older students, all men, no allusion to the three Rs.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@meJess kids already don't learn anything on . . .

the first week of school.

the last week of school

any school days on the week of thanksgiving

during class trips to washington DC, NYC or some museum

the day after spring break, memorial day, labor day, veterans day, easter monday, MLK day, president's day . . .

meJess · F

@SusanInFlorida exactly, hence the question 😊

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@SusanInFlorida I might agree with some of those, but a visit to a museum, DC or NYC if used as a teaching device, can be very educational. There really is nothing like putting history into perspective for it to become a fundamental building block to education. The real problem, with that, is there are really far fewer such trips than in my era, because of loss of funding for them.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@samueltyler2 i'm not dissing museums. but putting kids on a 3 hour bus ride to DC or NYC is not the best way to expose them to the Museum of Modern Art or the smitsonian. there are documentaries which are well revierwed and more coherent than simply wandering around while your teacher mumbles

samueltyler2 · 80-89, M

@SusanInFlorida i dislike 1-3 hour bus rides as well, and can only speak for myself, but those museum trips were invaluable parts of both my science and art education.