District 49 wants a 4 day school week (house, school district, college)

[Airborneguy]

Originally Posted by Bullitt007

Schools are not day care providers.

There are also parents that work weekends...should we have school on weekends as well so they are cared for and fed?

The public school is not providing daycare. It is standard practice in the vast majority of the country that the school week, like the work week, is 5 days. I certainly am not looking for day care from the school, but would not move to a district that forced me to find actual daycare because of a shortened school week.

Honestly, when I move to Colorado again I'll be retired anyway, so I'll be taking care of my kids while the wife works, but this just caught my attention for the people who HAVE to work regular, 5 day jobs, and their children being in school makes life much easier.

A sudden change like this leaves a parent with few choices: change jobs, lose a day of pay, lean on family, or find a one-day daycare program. Many parents will end up leaving children home alone who are not old enough/responsible enough to be in that situation. If the municipality actually cut school taxes because of move like this, then the parent would have no room to complain, but considering any person with a brain knows that they won't do this, its just an increased burden on already strapped tax-paying parents.

[CosmicWizard]

MrsMac wrote:

I feel so sorry for people who are trying to sell houses out in this area. Since the whole bus fiasco earlier this year (when the only way the parents even found out the school district was voting that night on doing away with the district's transportation dept entirely was a note sent home by the bus drivers; it went downhill from there), house sales have come to a virtual standstill and lots of families who rent (like us) are leaving the district.

Perhaps the bus fiasco as you call it is a minor contributor to house sales coming to a virtual standstill, but I'm thinking that the national real estate crash and the persistent economic malaise are much bigger culprits.

[MrsMac]

Originally Posted by Bullitt007

This is a big trend and it's working for many districts. Big $$$ savings as well. I say don't knock it until you try it.

Actually, studies (done by the Education Commission of the States) have shown that the cost savings for schools that have implemented a 4 day school week are negligible at only 0.3 to 2.5% of the total budget. Because the schools are always used on the 5th "down" day (for daycare, teacher development, sports, etc.) and salaries (which make up the majority of any budget) remain the same since everyone is working the same number of hours (just in a shorter time frame) the only significant cost savings is in the area of hourly wage earners (who will have their pay cut significantly in an already shaky economy) and transportation. As of this year parents in D49 are paying a $1 a ride and the transportation department is relying solely on that to survive so they will actually cut their revenue - potentially by more than they will save.

And yes, it has worked for many districts, the majority of which are small and rural. Everything I've read, however, indicates that extensive time should be taken studying the issue since there are so many variables. There are some positives (contrary to what has been stated here in other posts, "there is a decided lack of evidence how the schedule impacts student achievement"* , though attendance was positively impacted) and some negatives and 7 weeks and one or two meetings with the community just isn't enough time to make an informed decision but the Board will vote on it anyway.

I am not adamantly against a 4 day school week (were I still teaching elementary school it would be a dream schedule for me!) but as usual parents were not given much information or resources to find out more on the subject in the email asking for their input, few public meetings were scheduled to discuss the issue and the Board allowed almost no lead time before they make their vote. I feel like once again the Board is going to do what it wants to do and doesn't really care what is best for the kids or what parents have to say.

* Four-Day School Week (2009)
ECS StateNote
By Molly Ryan

[MrsMac]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

MrsMac wrote:

I feel so sorry for people who are trying to sell houses out in this area. Since the whole bus fiasco earlier this year (when the only way the parents even found out the school district was voting that night on doing away with the district's transportation dept entirely was a note sent home by the bus drivers; it went downhill from there), house sales have come to a virtual standstill and lots of families who rent (like us) are leaving the district.

Perhaps the bus fiasco as you call it is a minor contributor to house sales coming to a virtual standstill, but I'm thinking that the national real estate crash and the persistent economic malaise are much bigger culprits.

I never said it wasn't a minor contributor - sales out here were really, really slow to start with (as is the case almost everywhere) but the situation with D49 has made it even worse the last 6 months. This is a neighbourhood built around an elementary school and 95% of the residents are families with children; issues with the schools/school district definitely adversely effects the desirability of homes in this area.

[CosmicWizard]

MrsMac wrote:

I never said it wasn't a minor contributor

I'm not saying you did or didn't.I merely said that perhaps it was.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by ladyjag45

I completely agree Bullitt007. I feel fortunate to have never put my child in daycare, (she's in high school now), but realize this is not the case with many families. Still, it is not the responsibility of the public school system to solve that problem.

No, it is not the responsibility of the school district to provide day care for working parents, however, it IS the responsibility of the school district to be "family friendly" and consider the impact of its decisions on families. The SD should not deliberately make things harder for families.

[MrsMac]

The parental survey indicated that 63% of parents were opposed to a 4 day school week so it looks like the idea has been shelved by now.

I really think this whole issue was handled badly. If they really thought this was a good fit for the district they should have said WHY in their email and cited whatever studies, budget projections, etc they had done. They should also have provided more info or provided websites, etc. where parents could have found info on the pros and cons and how the 4 day week has worked in other districts.

[leeper]

We are looking at a house in the district 49 area, is this a good school or a bad school? We are from Iowa and do not have a clue.

[MrsMac]

Originally Posted by leeper

We are looking at a house in the district 49 area, is this a good school or a bad school? We are from Iowa and do not have a clue.

The schools in general are good, it's the school board and the way the district is run that we're unhappy with. Too much change and budget cutting, the cost of school bus service ($1 a ride) and the possibility it won't even exist next year and uncertainty over whether their new "school initiative" restructuring will benefit the students or hurt them in the long run.

Personally, I'm looking at houses in Districts 20, 12 or 38. Too much uncertainty here in D49 and if it is adversely effecting home values now there is a good chance it could get worse in the future.

[ladyjag45]

Property value was a large part of why we didn't even look at houses in District 49. It seemed as if houses were less expensive there than other areas of Colorado Springs, but I'm not sure if this had anything to do with the school district. I would imagine it was a factor as school systems can make or break resale. We ended up in Monument, (District 38). We just moved here this summer, but so far, so good. There are a lot of retired people up here in Monument, and I do not see a whole lot for sale as I did in some areas of Colorado Springs. Of course, we aren't planning on moving any time soon.