Efficiency and costs in education: year-round versus traditional schedules

This study explores the cost savings (efficiency) of a year-round schedule versus a traditional 9-month schedule for schools in Clark County, Nevada. Unlike many previous studies, the cost of real estate capital is included i n the estimated cost functions. The sample includes 115 elementary schools, 26 with a year-round schedule, and the study finds that this schedule not only produces efficiencies in the cost of capital area but also in other ar eas such as operations. These efficiencies are evident after taking into ac count the usual average daily attendance, test performance scores, and soci oeconomic variables that are customarily used in such studies. The existenc e and size of efficiencies discovered in this study have implications for t hose school districts that face a rapidly growing student population. (C) 2 001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.