Children in frigid areas have "snow day" school closures. Could students across sunny California face "budget days" in bad fiscal times?

Gov. Jerry Brown and school officials warn that shutting down school one month early – 20 instructional days – is a real possibility for the next school year without an extension of higher taxes. Some see Hawaii, which slashed 17 days in 2009-10, as an example that drastic measures are possible.

But there remain significant hurdles to imposing a monthlong closure in California, particularly getting approval from teachers unions and lawmakers. Republicans suggest that Democrats are raising the possibility as a scare tactic.

In the past two years, most California school districts have reduced their schedules below the 180-day calendar that was standard here in the previous decade and remains the norm nationwide.

No legislative proposal exists, but Orange County Superintendent of Schools William Habermehl said his 27 districts are talking about the option, whether it means a shorter school year or four-day weeks.

The Corona-Norco Unified School District in Riverside County was one of those that reduced its school year to 175 days, the state minimum.

"As terrible as it might be, I would advocate for a shorter year with a quality school program rather than a longer year and a decimated program that has morale at its all-time low," Corona-Norco Superintendent Kent Bechler testified at the Capitol last month. "I think a 160-day school year is not out of the question."

Locally, the Elk Grove and Natomas unified districts have reduced the school year to 175 days, while San Juan Unified and Sacramento City Unified have retained a 180-day calendar.

The Democratic governor is expected to outline deep cuts as he revises his budget in two weeks, when he will likely explain his alternate vision should Republicans block additional taxes to balance the remaining $15.4 billion deficit.

The California Legislative Analyst's Office estimates that eliminating each five-day school week statewide would save $1 billion.

So far, districts plan to rely more on larger class sizes and eliminating bus transportation to save money next year, among other solutions. But they are not ruling out school-year reductions depending on what Brown proposes. Any school-year changes would have to be bargained with employee unions.

The discussion comes as President Barack Obama has challenged states to move in the opposite direction, expressing concern that U.S. students are losing ground to their counterparts around the world, some of whom attend school 220 days a year.

California adopted a 180-day school year standard in 1998, relying on a revenue boost as the state emerged from recession. At the time, the average school-year length in California was 175.5 days.

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said he opposes any effort to shorten the school year, though he recognizes there may be no other option. "Of course that's horrible," he said. "Our competitors in the global economy – Japan, Singapore, Finland, China – have 200, 220 school days."

In 2009, as the state faced the depths of the Great Recession, California allowed districts to reduce the instructional year to 175 days to save money. Most districts initially held off, as 81 percent said they remained at 180 days in 2009-10, according to a survey by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.

But by this school year, a majority had resorted to cutting class time. Thirty percent said they went to 175 days, while 17 percent were at 176-177 and 11 percent at 178-179. That left about 42 percent at the full 180 days.

"There are already a lot of districts that have cut the school year," said Kevin Gordon, a veteran K-12 lobbyist. "If the Legislature had to do a cuts-only budget, there's almost no other way for (teacher) bargaining units to find that money other than taking huge cutbacks in pay or shutting down four weeks early."

Habermehl, the elected Orange County superintendent, suggested that state lawmakers should not only give districts flexibility to cut four weeks of the school year but also suspend collective bargaining mandates.

"What the Legislature ought to do is bite the bullet and do it at the state level," Habermehl said. "The Legislature needs to take the heat from (the California Teachers Association) and other unions."

Few expect the state to require that districts cut 20 days. At most, lawmakers and Brown would allow districts to decide for themselves whether to cut.

CTA President David Sanchez doesn't foresee lawmakers suspending collective bargaining and questioned whether that would even be legal. But he thinks a shorter school year is possible.

"Nobody would want to agree to that, nobody would want that to happen, but there may come a point where we have no other choice," Sanchez said.

In Hawaii, it was easier to institute a statewide class-year reduction. The state has one statewide school district and only one statewide teachers' union. Wil Okabe, head of the Hawaii State Teachers Association, said teachers agreed to 17 furlough days in 2009-10 only in the face of less palatable options.

"The governor wanted to install 36 furlough days, three per month," Okabe said. "They could have done layoffs ... but we decided to go with furloughs instead of mass layoffs."

Hawaii returned to a 178-day year in 2010-11, and lawmakers approved a bill with a new 180-day standard for 2011 through 2013.

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Call Kevin Yamamura, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5548.

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