Brandon Twp.-Students throughout the district could be spending fewer days in school under a proposed change to the calendar year.
A committee to study the possibility of starting school after the Labor Day holiday beginning with the 2006-2007 school year is to be formed this month.
Dawn Lindsay, a mother of four children in Brandon Schools, suggested the change at the June 13 school board meeting and presented the board with a 300-signature petition from supporters of a longer summer break for students.
‘It will give families more time together,? said Lindsay. ‘We need to spend more time with our kids.?
Lindsay is proposing eight fewer school days, with school beginning after Labor Day instead of the fourth week in August. She and supporters of the change do not want to extend the school year, rather, they want to have it end consistently before the second week of June.
Other benefits cited include a boost in tourism for the ailing Michigan economy and cost-saving for the school district.
Lindsay researched the issue and found that some school districts have saved as much as $10,000 per day in utility bills and wages for hourly workers.
The change would affect bus drivers, custodians, and food service workers, a concern for Beth Nuccio, school board president.
‘If hourly employees don’t work, they don’t get paid,? said Nuccio. ‘That would greatly impact them… From a moral standpoint, it concerns me to cut the workers hours. I need to sleep at night.?
Teachers have the school calendar year negotiated in their contract, but any change in the number of days also has the potential to affect them, says new Brandon Schools Superintendent Tom Miller.
‘It all goes back to the bargaining table,? he said. ‘This would be part of the negotiation with the teacher’s union.?
Clarkston Schools is one local district which has shortened the year because of budget concerns. Lindsay was not motivated to begin a drive to cut the length of the school year because of funding shortages, but says money saved could be spent on sports or academic programs.
‘Maybe this will help areas that we’ve had to cut back,? she said. ‘It doesn’t hurt to take a look at it and see what we can do.?
A few years ago, the Michigan legislature changed the instructional time requirement from 182 days per year to 1,098 hours per year to allow local control to schools. Brandon could retain the same amount of work time for employees while letting students have fewer days in school by increasing the time they spend at school each day, perhaps by as little as ten minutes per day, says Lindsay. However, Miller notes that many of the staff are paid by number of days worked, not hours.
Karen Schulz, a communications consultant for the Michigan Education Association, says the MEA is supportive of local control and does not take a position on when school should begin, ‘but there are a certain number of days you need to be in to get things done, such as testing.?
Brandon students currently attend school 186 days per year. Lindsay says some other schools go as few as 171 days, so the district still has a lot of room to maneuver with an 8-day decrease.
Denise Andrews, a Brandon Township resident and mother of three, is not worried about less instruction time and supports the proposed change.
‘It seems like the kids would have a longer, more enjoyable summer,? said Andrews, who is originally from Sault St. Marie and notes that students in the U.P. don’t go back until after Labor Day.
Ken Carpenter, whose son attends Brandon High School, agrees.
‘The kids? summer is cut off too soon,? he said. ‘They go back and all of a sudden, they’re off another three or four days. It makes no sense. Just wait and start after the holiday.?
In advocating the change, Lindsay also asserts that starting in September will make for cooler weather and more focused students.
Miller says a close examination of the issue is needed before any decision will be made.
? There needs to be a fair representation from all parties,? he said. ‘I am sure there are parents who are concerned if their kids are out longer, then what does that mean for child care. It’s a financial issue for some parents.?
He also cites research that shows the longer kids are out of the traditional school setting the longer remediation it takes to start the school year.
Both he and Nuccio agree the primary question should be whether a shorter school year will benefit students academically.
‘Will it improve student learning?? asked Miller. ‘We’ll take a look at the whole picture and the effect to all groups that are part of the education of our kids in the school district.?