No other educational innovation in the United States has as much potential for saving money for improving education as year-round school programs. The 14-year experience of Jefferson County, Colorado, had generated a cost savings of $87.7 million in bonded indebtedness when the multitrack program was terminated in 1988. District leaders were dismayed by the unreported savings in operating costs that became apparent when all the new schools necessary for operating a traditional 9-month operation were constructed and opened. This paper explains the rationale for the original year-round program, charts savings in construction costs during the experiment, and discusses cost reductions for staff and services that went unacknowledged when preparing the annual budget during the multitrack period. When returning to the 9-month program, many unforeseen problems arose, including a textbook shortage, increased operating costs, a need for unanticipated flat grants, staff phase-in costs, and a contract negotiations impasse due to an increasing budget crisis. No one knows exactly how much was saved by Jefferson County's year-round program, because such records were not kept. Although the year-round education movement is growing throughout the nation, it is unlikely to return to Jefferson County unless the legislature offers some incentive for change. (MLH)