$32 Million Incentive Proposed for School Districts That Go Year-round

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(KCPW News) A daring proposal at the Utah Legislature would offer 32-million dollars as an incentive for school districts to convert to a year-round schedule. Senator Howard Stephenson is basing the bill on a study by the K-12 Alliance that suggests schools could raise teacher pay by 40-percent and even shrink classes by holding school year-round:

"Even though we can't get competition outside our public school system because vouchers was defeated last week, when we create competition within the public school system, some very beneficial things occur," says Stephenson.

Stephenson's bill would offer grants to school districts willing to try the extended-year concept. Governor Huntsman has offered preliminary support for the idea, too. And while it may allow schools to pay teachers for working more days, Representative Brad Last warns that year-round school is not popular with parents:

"It's fraught with big challenges - not the least of which will be public relations," says Last. "It will take a big incentive to get a school district to move to this type of schedule."

School districts could qualify for incentive grants up to 20-million dollars based on their size. In theory, the year-round approach would not cost more money because it allows districts to accommodate more students without building more schools. The incentive money could offset the costs of air conditioning and other issues related to staying open during the summer.

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