Homedale has joined the growing number of Idaho school districts shifting to a four-day schedule.

Trustees approved the change Monday, and the new calendar will go into effect in 2014-15.

Cost was a driving consideration. Citing a 2011 study, Superintendent Rob Sauer has said the move will save the district $40,000 to $70,000 a year.

Homedale is facing a budget crunch, after voters in the Owyhee County district rejected two supplemental levies in 2013. Both levies would have raised $968,200 over two years.

In 2013-14, 40 of Idaho’s 115 school districts used a four-day schedule, as well as nine charter schools. That number increased sharply during the Great Recession, according to State Department of Education records. In 2008-09, at the outset of the recession, only 14 school districts and two charter schools had a four-day calendar.

Here’s more about the Homedale decision from the Idaho Press-Tribune.