If you teach in the district and your kids attend the district you have long weekends together.

Might benefit kids with fewer teacher absences from those that take Fridays off to extend a vacation trip.

Kids would only miss 1 rehearsal instead of two during TMEA week.

Sometimes budgets matter and there is a finite amount of money. If transportation costs are that significant in a rural area that money saved on fuel can get kicked back to other operations or maybe even another CTU.....

An awful lot of corporate America is 4 day weeks. Trade jobs and retail will always be 6 or 7 days a week so it's a matter of teaching kids to manage their time and 5 days a week doesn't necessarily alter that skill significantly. Heck, how many kids in college only have classes 2 or 3 days a week? If it doesn't extend the first and last day of the school year I don't think it really matters that much once the kids adjust.