Elk County Courthouse

[W. Gray]

I received my Flint Hills Express yesterday and note the Elk County Courthouse is going to a four day week from 7:00 am to 5:30 pm Monday through Thursday because of the high cost of gasoline, utilities, etc.

[Tobina+1]

According to the news a week or so ago, that seems to be a popular trend.  The Wichita news station mentioned a few towns around that were doing that.  I think that's good!  I'm sure all the employees will be happy to have an extra day to spend with family... and have to spend less on child care (although I wonder if that's putting a kink in their budgets, too).

[Wilma]

The Elk County road dept. has been working 4 day weeks for quite a few years now.  I kind of miss their noise on Fridays.

[sixdogsmom]

The last five or six years of my working was four ten hour days. I especially like it because we spent a long weekend here every week!

[Mom70x7]

So how long will their 4-day weeks last?

It's Monday-Thursday. If it continues into the school year, there will need to be some rescheduling.
The schools, to save costs, have also gone to some 4-day weeks, only those weeks are with Monday off, not Friday.
That means the kids will be home on Mondays, the court-house parents home on Fridays? 

Or is the Monday-Thursday only for the summer?

[Dale Smith]

I've been working a four-day week for about 6 years now.  I would NOT want to go back to the "traditional" five day week.

[Lookatmeknow!!]

I think, but not sure, that they are trying to see if this will work out.  I think it would be a good thing if I was employed there, but since I am one that has a child of a parent that works there it changes my schuedule at the daycare a little bit.  I am now having kids from 6:30 a.m. till at least 5:30 or after.  But I am the kind of person that it really doesn't matter, you have to do what you have to do to make your customers happy.  I try to work with my parents to fit there schuedule as much as possible.  I would love for the school to go to 4 day weeks, but I would rather see them have off Fridays!!  I feel that with the economy the way that it is we have to do whatever we have to do to make things work!!!

[frawin]

I don't see how the school could have every Friday off, because there are so many activities that are done on Fridays.  Also, are the other schools in the league using this schedule?  If not, then how about music, speech, sports, activities?
I worked a 9/80 schedule at one place I worked and loved it.  We worked 4 9's and an 8, then the next week worked 4 9's and was off on Friday.  It was really nice when the holidays fell on Monday as we had a 4-day weekend!
mlw

[W. Gray]

My wife and I had the 9 and 8 schedule for about ten years before we retired. Every other Friday we were off.

We tried the ten hour day for one two week period but it was just too much for both of us.

We drove to work together for almost 20 years. We had a private parking place close to the building because the two of us were classified as a car pool. Otherwise we would have been walking in from Kansas (an actual workplace joke at that time because of a huge parking place on the east.)

We retired on the same day from the same place.

My first thought, from a customer service perspective, was that it might have been better for the courthouse to take Monday off--but then they are running the place. 

[Mom70x7]

You're right about the school's reasons for taking Monday off, not Fridays.

There are a couple of other schools in the area that are on 4-day weeks ALL the time, not just once or twice a month, like West Elk.

When those schools take their turn to host League activities such as music and drama, they host them on Fridays. It's very convenient to have the whole school for scheduling and not have to worry about disrupting classes.