Year Round Schools

Year Round Schools May End at APS

I just read the above article, and I really don't like the idea that the school board can just vote to end year-round schedules at 8 elementary schools based on transportation costs.  I know budgets are tight.  But, it seems like the issue should be decided by school parents and staff - not the school board of a massive school district.  The schedule change saves something like $33,500.  Yes, a lot of money to me, but a drop in the bucket when it comes to the budget of the district as a whole.  It's possible that parents, staff, and students would agree to the change or maybe even be in favor of it, but it's also possible that they really approve of the year-round school schedule.  I would.  I think it's ill-conceived to have students off of school all summer, when we are griping about how our nation is consistently out-performed. 

The article does state that the year-round schools don't show statistically higher test scores than other schools, but perhaps they get the same results without having to run the same early-back-to-school summer programs that other elementary schools do.  I bet it saves cost to simply  have all of the students in school rather than creating an extra program so the schedule looks more like year round schools.  I'm always befuddled by who makes what decisions in public schooling.  It clearly seems to me like this decision, based on the amount of money it really saves and the amount of impact it will have on families and school staff, should be made by the FAMILIES and SCHOOL STAFF MEMBERS involved!