Russell USD 407 faces the same budgetary shortfalls as other school districts throughout the state of Kansas. For the school year about to begin, Russell has $340,000 less to perform its mission than it had a year ago. That's a significant bite out of a $7 million annual budget.

"It's definitely worse this year," said Superintendent David Couch, "even with the federal stimulus money."

Trying times call for creative solutions. The Russell district has come up with one of the more creative expense reductions we've seen in the region. When students return to class Sept. 2 in Russell, Lucas and Luray, they will face 30 additional minutes of instruction per day. In exchange, 14 school days have been eliminated from the calendar.

The resulting savings by not having support staff at work or buses running, and by not having to serve meals or run air-conditioning units, is estimated to be between $60,000 and $70,000.

In an era when every penny counts, that's not chump change. Couch said the move was supported by staff, administrators and board of education members.

Count us in the support group as well. The common-sense reduction likely will be well-received by the students, who will get to enjoy a little longer summer break than usual.

We have not changed our opinion that students would benefit tremendously from year-round school. The three-month annual recess requires wasteful remedial classroom time to recover from. Shorter and more frequent vacations would improve our children's learning significantly.

But that approach is not on the bargaining table anywhere in the country, so we'll save our breath.

What is in every school district's immediate future is the need to reduce expenses. We believe Superintendent Couch and the Russell BOE have discovered a painless way to achieve some of the necessary savings. Other school districts would be well-advised to examine the effect such a move would have on their budgets.

Editorial by Patrick Lowry

plowry@dailynews.net