The Franklin County School Board is making sure everyone knows ahead of time that school property is no place for politicking.

Board members reaffirmed that policy earlier this week, saying that the handing out of any campaign material on school property by candidates or their supporters will not be allowed.

The issue surfaced last year when Del. Charles Poindexter and his opponent, Eric Ferguson, were in a heated campaign for the Ninth District House seat.

Congratulations to Jessica Gawor and Stephanie Mills for being honored by the state DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Association for their work in the program.

They won top honors in the state at the recent DARE Association's annual meeting in Hampton.

Ms. Gawor, a fifth-grade teacher at Rocky Mount Elementary School, was named the Lakey/Bentley Educator of the Year, and FranklinﾠCounty Deputy Stephanie Mills was voted DARE Officer of the Year for the state.

With the cost of fuel for Franklin County schools soaring to almost $1 million for the 2008-2009 school year, officials may want to at least look at ways to save on that expense.

Some school systems across the country are considering, or have already adopted, a four-day school week.

In such a system, schools are open longer those four days (usually about an hour or so) and are closed either on Friday or Monday. With buses running only four days a week, that's a 20 percent savings in the cost of fuel. Other savings include the cost of heating and cooling buildings, and staffing cafeterias and providing food.

We're not saying it would work in Franklin County, or that it's even feasible, but it may be worth a little research.

In fact, research completed on school systems that have switched to four days a week is mostly positive.