Wednesday, March 27, 2002
|
Wednesday, March 27, 2002 |
|
Is BOE trying to sneak in year-round school? The Balanced Calendar is just another name for year-round school.Information from around the nation abounds as to how this calendar has been effectively pushed and established since about 1976.Locally, ask any Coweta County teacher, parent, or public school child what the "balanced" calendar meant to them: Three-week breaks between each of the four semesters on a year-round schedule, with other brief breaks scattered intermittently. Fayette County Board of Education (FCBOE) member Greg Powers has said, "I think we need to get through the construction process before we move the starting date up," and Mickey Littlefield has said, "It would address construction concerns and would allow us to phase in a balanced calendar."During the FCBOE meeting March 18, Janet Smola also appeared to push the shortened summer calendar, even anxious to meet construction obligations so that a shortened summer can be effected as soon as possible. In 1998, Aug. 24 marked the first day of school for Fayette County; in 1999 Aug. 16; in 2000 Aug. 14; and in 2003, the FCBOE is apparently pushing Aug. 4, gradually phasing in the balanced calendar.Compromises to the traditional calendar are ongoing. All indications show that year-round school is indeed the direction the FCBOE is headed.It's the gradual move into the year-round "balanced" calendar that makes it so easy for administration. When does it begin to hurt?When does it become apparent?Resistance to the plan then is spread out and individualized, rather than obvious and mass directed. This is absolutely cunning.Diffusing objections is a management tool known as The Delphi Technique and is used frequently by the members of the socialist reform movement. Or, FCBOE administrators could be merely wanting to kick up their resumes by doing something dramatic; phasing in year-round school is a national trend to that end.But, interestingly, they continue to deny that balanced is year-round. Why?Perhaps because there's plenty of posted information available on the trial-and-error moves of year-round school and objections to it would be sudden and numerous. Of course, some proponents of Plan 1 are innocently pursuing personal interest (such as having time during the school year for seasonal vacations) or merely just following the leader without examining or taking long-term effects of year-round school into consideration. Board members continue to deny that "balanced" means year-round school (see the FCBOE website).So, what are they trying to balance? It's certainly not the budget. As Janet Smola questioned the construction contractor at the March 18 meeting, it was clear that she wanted this contractor to do whatever it takes to squeeze in all the maintenance and construction needs during the shortened summers. He obviously took cues from Smola and wanted to keep his county contract.He found a way to do it:His company could go with the shortened summers by potentially increasing cost and single projects could be spread out over more than one summer. For instance, carpeting a high school could be done piecemeal (that is, one area one summer and another area the next summer) and so on. Why does the board want to squeeze out summer at any price?There's plenty of information available as to why year-round balanced calendars cost much more; and it's not just in potentially problematical maintenance and construction constrictions and possible cost increases to perform the usual requirements. Taxpayers in Fayette County should see a problem with a year-round "balanced" calendar phase in. Another month has been granted by the FCBOE to hear more input from constituents, particularly to see if Plan 3 gets any backing.Plan 3 leaves the start date at Aug. 11, but grants a full week off for school children at Thanksgiving.Never mind that most parents only get two days off. Coweta County has returned to the traditional calendar. Perhaps there's still time for Fayette County residents to learn from the mistakes of others and reject the balanced year-round school calendar before full implementation.But only if concerned resident taxpayers, parents, business leaders, ministers, and sensible teachers and school administrators make their voices heard loud and clear. Kathie Prado Peachtree City
|
||