Students in Wendell will spend their Fridays receiving tutoring — and going on some field trips — as the Magic Valley school district adopts a four-day schedule.

The district considered the move several years ago. This time around, the district opted for the switch after consulting with officials in nearby Shoshone and Gooding, which operate on a four-day calendar.

Cost was a consideration, according to Tetona Dunlap of the Twin Falls Times-News. State and local funding for Wendell is down $790,326 from 2009-10.

The number of districts on four-day schedules is on the increase. At least 38 school districts and nine charter schools have made the switch, state Department of Education spokeswoman Melissa McGrath told Dunlap.

In 2012-13, 37 districts and seven charter schools used a four-day schedule — a rapid jump from five years ago, when only 14 districts and three charter schools used such a schedule.

Here’s a link to a 2008 state report looking at four-day school schedules — and the relatively modest cost savings that come with the switch.