A compromise would have been starting school the last week of August instead of going back to the original start date;
The Sioux Falls School District has been trying out different schedules for the past few years. Now, the district has decided that the 2019-2020 school year will start on August 22nd, 2019.
Most importantly, the committee sent out surveys for people to fill out their input.
A whopping 11,000 parents, students, and staff members filled out the survey.
Administrators say about 60 percent recommended school start before Labor day for the 2019-2020 school year. All three groups: students, parents, and staff, sided with the August start date.
According to survey results, 56 percent of parents, 64 percent of students, and 67 percent of staff wanted school to start prior to Labor Day.
Notice who is missing from that survey? The people who actually fund a majority of our schools, property and sales tax payers who DO NOT have children. Where was their voice? Like the sales tax increase, the concerns fell on deaf ears.
They also brought up the tired old concern about AP tests;
There were a number of factors to consider.
“AP tests -so that we had enough time with the AP tests and those semester classes,†said Nold.
Ironically, AP scores went up the year school started after labor day. It has never made sense to me to start school when it is still nice out and two weeks before a major national holiday. When I went to school we always started after labor day due to the state fair, 4-H involvement and harvest season and other summer activities. It comes down to a select group of people (the school board) telling the rest of us working stiffs that they are smartest kids in the room and be damn the public’s opinion.
Where’s Erickson? Wasn’t she big on the “Save The Summer” movement back in 2014? Or was that just a stepping stone issue to assure eventual reelection so that she could be Marty’s running mate in 2018?
Let me get this straight.
The start date is suppose to be determined by when you started school and the dates of the state fair. The governing board elected by the public should just have a poll to decide.
Why elect representatives if we don’t let them make decisions?
If you don’t like the decisions, elect different representatives.
Duane, I wish it was that easy. But when you spend over $16,000 to get on the school board, it is very hard to get grassroots candidates elected or compete with that.
south dakota has a state fair?
If you don’t have kids in the system, why does it matter to you when school starts?
This is to the School Board like Snow Gates are to the City Council.
And the drama continues.
The public has spoken on this issue over and over. I know for various and sundry reasons that the experts disagree.
But isn’t this a public school district……
And the reason we have to start so early is to have semester tests before the holiday (previously Christmas) break- but wait those tests will now be in January. What hypocrits!!