AUBURN – Auburn’s controversial early-release Wednesdays should stay, but instead of students going to school half-days every Wednesday, there should be six Wednesdays a year students stay all day.

That was the recommendation given Monday night to the Auburn School Committee by a panel that has been studying what to do with the early-release Wednesday policy hated by many parents, loved by most teachers.

The school committee took no action on the recommendation, but will vote on it Nov. 28.

Elaine Dow, the school department’s Director of the Office of Learning and Teaching, told the school committee that the parents, teachers and committee members who served on the special panel had a difficult job.

Early-release Wednesdays is an emotional topic, she said. There are people who passionately favor it and people who passionately oppose it.

In coming to its recommendation the panel surveyed parents and teachers. Of the teachers, 92 percent wanted early-release Wednesdays to stay, Dow said. One teacher wrote that Auburn “is the amazing system it is” because teachers are given time every Wednesday to improve their teaching with staff development. Eight percent of teachers said they wanted it eliminated, that the existing schedule does not provide enough classroom time for student learning.

Of the parents surveyed, 46 percent said they wanted it eliminated, 31 percent said it should be kept, and 23 percent were not sure, Dow said.

Parents who were opposed said it was unnecessary and caused hardship to families. They weren’t sure what teachers do on Wednesday afternoons. “We have not done a good job letting parents know what it’s used for,” Dow said.

Other parents said teachers work hard and need the time to learn to teach. They also said they use Wednesday afternoons for their children’s doctors appointments, dance or piano lessons, or special quality time, Dow said.

School Committee member Susan Gaylord questioned if it was worth the fuss to have only six fewer half-day Wednesdays a year.

Parent Pam Hart, who served on the panel, said that six “was a fair compromise,” that the committee tried to look at every aspect. No matter what action is taken, “I don’t think you’re going to please everybody,” Hart said. “I would have kept it the way it was. We met in the middle. It wasn’t a one-sided deal.”

Parent Rachel Randall predicted that parents opposed to the practice are going to feel that six fewer days is too few, that their opinion was not considered.

School Committee Chairman David Das said citizens who want to share their thoughts on the recommendation can contact school committee members. Their names, numbers and some e-mail addresses are available at the school department’s Web page: http://www.auburnschl.edu/SchoolCommittee/board.html. The committee will vote at the Nov. 28 meeting meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at Auburn Hall.

Borrowing to save on energy

In other business, the committee unanimously voted to allow the Auburn School Department to enter in a so-called performance contract with Siemens of Westbrook to make energy savings improvements in Auburn schools. All schools, except the Park Avenue Elementary School, will receive some improvements. The Park Avenue school is new and does not need any improvements.

An eight-year loan will be taken out to pay for $1.9 million worth of work. Loan payments will be made by the annual energy savings, projected to be about $203,195, said business manager Jude Cyr.

The savings are guaranteed by Siemens, Cyr explained. If the school department saves less than projected, Siemens “is on the hook” and will pay the difference.

Meanwhile, Auburn schools will be using less electricity and oil. The biggest savings will be in electric lighting, Cyr said. He did not have breakdowns of the savings. Building improvements will range from new, low-energy lights and sensors that turn lights on and off when people enter and leave the room at the middle and the high school, East Auburn, Fairview, Franklin, Merrill Hill, Sherwood Heights, Walton and Washburn. Park Avenue has those lights, and there has accrued savings, Cyr said.

New or upgraded furnaces to cut heating costs will be installed at Fairview, the middle school, Sherwood Heights and Walton. Steps are also being taken to reduce water use, including waterless urinals at some schools. Water costs are on their way up, Cyr said.

Because the building improvements will be paid by the energy savings, it’s a smart move financially and environmentally, Das said.

Live, online

Interim Superintendent Tom Morrill announced that all school committee meetings are being webcast on the school department’s Web page. That means anyone who wants to watch meetings live can do so by going to http://www.auburnschl.edu.

At that site, video and audio of past meetings will also be available, Morrill said. That’s in addition to school board meetings held at Auburn Hall broadcast on the local cable channel, he said.