[Durham INC] so-called education budget

[Pat Carstensen]

I am seething over the proposal to cut the school year:






Draft N.C. budget cuts week of school

 

        Legislators are talking about cutting the 2009-10 school year short by five days because of the budget crisis.

    ...

    Cutting the school year from 180 days to 175 next year
would save $100 million. In 2010-11, the school year would be reduced
by 10 days to 170 days, saving $200 million. Teachers and other school
staff would be furloughed, creating most of the savings.

    Rep.
Rick Glazier, a Fayetteville Democrat and one of the education budget
writers, said the idea is to have five days cut from the end of the
school year, days that are notorious for their limited instructional
value.
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I think they are really trying to make summer longer to make the tourism industry happy.  Hey, and in the long run, the tourism gets a surplus of ill-educated people who will be fighting for jobs flipping burgers and cleaning bathrooms, which will keep down the industry's costs and make them really happy (-:

Realistically, the end of the school year is a waste, but shortening the year won't change the fact that:
1) Seniors graduate before school is out so they need to take tests a week before the end of school (so why not have graduation the weekend after the end of school?)
2) They've mandated that the last day of school can't be later than June 10, so you have the last day of school on June 10, even if it is a Thursday, and no-one does anything the last week of school (so just say that school starts on a Monday and ends on a Tuesday, which gives a day to collect books and make up tests, and a day to party in the last week or school.  Problem solved)
3) End of grade testing in middle schools takes 4 weeks (one to prepare, one to take the test, one for remediation for the 10-30% who failed the first time, one for re-testing -- leaving at least 2 weeks for the kids who passed to be mostly entertained or maybe "enriched."  (so ban re-testing.  Not having any summer school is getting everyone really focused on passing, and this would do the same.  or have centralized re-testing after the school year and charge students for it.  which will also focus their attention on passing the first time.)

If we want to make the summer longer for the tourism industry, we should give schools multiple options (start 2nd week of August so the first semester ends at Christmas, start after Labor Day to minimize AC costs, etc.) and say that no more than 50% of kids on tradition calendars (not year-round) can start before August 25th (or whatever the closest Monday is).



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