Though diesel prices haven’t spiked as they did following Hurricane Katrina, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue asked schools in his state to close on Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 26 and 27, to conserve diesel in the wake of Hurricane Rita.

Perdue told The Associated Press that, if all of the state’s schools were closed, the state would save about 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel each day.

Perdue said it was up to each school district’s superintendent to make the final decision on closing, but he urged the state to come together.

“If Georgians stick together, work together and conserve together we can weather whatever problems Rita brings our way with the least possible inconvenience,” he said.

In a related story, in Kentucky, schools are cutting back across the board – limiting field trips and redrawing bus routes – to save on fuel.

One county in the state has even gone so far is to cut back its school week. In Jackson County, KY, beginning Oct. 17, students will get every Friday off and teachers will only work a half-day on those days.

To make up the time, Jackson is extending school hours during the rest of the week. Schools will start 15 minutes earlier and end 45 minutes later, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Another Kentucky county, Webster, made this move in 2003 when diesel prices started to rise and saved more than $150,000 in transportation, overtime and workers’ compensation costs in the first year.