My phone was ringing off the hook today about the Roosevelt students speaking at the SF school district informational meeting Wednesday night about the after Labor Day start.
I will agree with administrators that I think it is wonderful that students came and spoke up Wednesday night. But let’s be realistic folks, most of them are not eligible to vote, they are not parents and business owners AND they don’t don’t pay property taxes. So while we appreciate their opinions, they really don’t get to make the final decision.
So now with the phone calls . . .
The first (and second) was about a person attending the meeting last night, and they overheard a student say that it was announced over the morning messages at Roosevelt HS to come and speak at the meeting and they would get ‘credit’.
I later passed this information on to my favorite gardener, former substitute teacher, pianist and foot soldier, Theresa Stehly. According to the principal of Roosevelt that Theresa interviewed on the phone today, credit was NOT offered, but students were encouraged to attend, and also commended Thursday morning during morning announcements over the HS’s P.A.
Theresa was told by the principal they would welcome a presentation by the Save our Summer group to the student body. I hope the SOS group takes advantage of this opportunity, and I hope the MSM gives equal time and credit to both sides of the issue. It’s an opportunity for great dialogue in our community. Lets face it, both sides have solid arguments.
And here’s the kicker . . .
Roosevelt High School principal and student council advisor both reiterated to Theresa that it would put a hardship on athletic activities. Their fear is that the SD activities association would probably not be flexible in scheduling activities if Sioux Falls changed their school start date to after Labor Day.
Theresa told them that she felt that other communities would follow suit, and the activities association would work to support these changes once they felt the groundswell from the SF policy changes.
While many reasons have been thrown at us about AP testing and Christmas break, it seems the real gorilla in the room is about starting early practices for sports.
There is also a question of state law and the legality of the students being encouraged by administrators to testify against a late start date, this is advocational in nature and kind of sits in a grey area when it comes to elections.
The school district must be very careful to not spend any tax dollars or energy on influencing this election.
I encourage ALL students to come and talk about the issue, but at the end of the day, it’s the parents, tax payers and eligible voters who will make the final decision, not HS football players or cheerleaders.
Finally, I pay for your education, and I don’t take that duty lightly, and fully support it, but I expect the highest level of transparency. This is the first thing we must teach our young minds.