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(AP) -- The Fulton County school board has trimmed the number of classroom days from 180 to 177. 

The board voted for the change Thursday night for the 88,000-student district to save an estimated $1.1 million in the next school year. The change is for one year only while board members gauge the effect of the change on education. 

Students who sit in class waiting for the bell to ring will need a little more patience. The school day will be extended by 10 minutes. 

The county's school year will begin on Aug. 23 in 2010. 

Murray County in north Georgia has switched to a 160-day school year, and Peach County has adopted a four-day school week.

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