Despite widespread opposition, MLG eliminates 4-day school week

Few education policy issues can unite the liberal Searchlight NM, teachers unions, Republican legislators, and the Rio Grande Foundation, but apparently the fight to allow rural school districts to keep 4-day school weeks is it. In fact, the Searchlight article does an excellent job highlighting specific examples/stories, but Lujan Grisham took it upon herself to impose the 4-day week anyway.

Here is a fairly exhaustive list of why she is wrong:

• During the 2023 legislative session the Legislature debated and passed HB 130 which was signed into law by Gov. Lujan Grisham to add hours to the school calendar. Instructional time went from 990 hours to 1,140 hours.
• On a bipartisan basis the Legislature (this year) explicitly rejected mandating 5-day school weeks.
• The cost to taxpayers of adopting the 5-day seek would be in excess of $100 million annually.
• New Mexico parents prefer 4-day school weeks in districts that have them with 69% of elementary parents saying they “definitely prefer the 4-day schedule” and another 15% saying they “probably” prefer 4-days.
• While Albuquerque Public Schools does not have 4-day schools Albuquerque Federation Teachers President Dr. Ellen Bernstein spoke out on the issue telling KOAT the proposed changes are a “false solution” to a “complex problem.”
• Bernstein is right, teachers like 4-day school weeks.
• Students also like them overwhelmingly with 85% of students say they like the 4-day school week “a lot.”
• Socorro Public Schools Superintendent recently said the following, “Teacher morale has been off the charts since we started this (4-day week). Right now I have 22% of my teachers that drive in from other communities. I have another about 9-11% that can retire tomorrow if they wanted to, but they’re staying because of the four-day week,”
• Why would the Gov. or any bureaucrat in Santa Fe tell students in some of the most far-flung parts of New Mexico how many days they need to go to school per week?
• Some of New Mexico’s highest performing districts have 4-day school weeks. There is no serious evidence that 4-day weeks harm student outcomes.
• Athletes in rural parts of New Mexico often travel long distances around New Mexico for sporting events. “Friday Night Lights” (and other sporting events involving up to 5 hours of travel each way) don’t cause missed class time under a 4-day school week.
• One benefit of 4-day school weeks cited by parents, teachers, and students alike is the ability to schedule medical appointments and other essential activities on Fridays without missing time in class.