The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Two "year round education" plans were presented to the Sisters School Board Monday night and were both praised and criticized by an audience of parents and teachers who filled virtually every chair in the meeting room.

The plans were berated for what was perceived by some as "politically

motivated," "anti-family" and unnecessary, and applauded by those who see some form of class rescheduling as a the only apparent means of solving the inevitable increase in overcrowding of school facilities.

The school board and study committees have been investigating year round education in its various forms for several years as a way of improving education and of providing ways of accommodating more students without construction of additional classrooms. The issue of overcrowding had become urgent with the failure of two bond issues that would have funded new facilities. Frustrating the situation even more is Measure 47, passed by voters

November 5. It will make it even more difficult to fund construction and virtually impossible to furnish and operate new facilities, according to Superintendent Steve Swisher.

The two scheduling plans were presented Monday night by a committee

headed by grade school principal Tim Comfort. The committee has 10 members and is comprised of teachers and parents. Comfort emphasized that the scheduling models were presented for discussion. He said the two were taken from a list of 19 plans which were reviewed in detail by his committee. The two, he said, were intended to draw comments and questions from the board and the audience. Board chairman Bill Reed said a plan will not be adopted by the board until after two more board meetings.

Promoting public understanding of the issues is one of Comfort's primary tasks. He said that in addition to articles in the Nugget, the committee is holding meetings with parents and inviting questions and comments via school office suggestion boxes.

Year round education does not mean more time in school, Comfort emphasized. He said regardless of which plan is adopted students will not be required to be in school more than they are now. He said calling it "year round education" in itself has created misunderstandings in this regard. He said his committee is no longer using the term and is calling it instead, alternative calendar proposals.

The school board and the committee, while touting alternative calendars as beneficial to education, have said the plan is to adopt some form of "single track" scheduling.

This is one in which all students attend classes at the same time and vacation at the same time.

This system will position the school district to move more smoothly into a "multi-track" schedule in which up to half the students could be on vacation at any one time.

Comfort said the committee and board will have to do more studying on the subject, but presently his group is favoring a three track system in which each student would attend school on one of three calendars.

This means that school would be run the year around and that one third of the school population would be off at all times.

Comfort said that regardless of which plan is adopted traditional

holidays will be observed and attempts made to provide for a relatively large block of time off during the summer.

The first plan introduced Monday night was one called the 45/15 calendar in which basically adheres to a schedule of 45 school days (nine weeks) in class and 15 days (three weeks) off. It is a single track plan which would have school starting for all students the last week of September with four weeks off around Christmas and New Years, three weeks in March, three weeks in June and six weeks off in August and September.

The second plan, called the 60/20 would have students on a single track that is set up roughly on a 12 weeks on, 4 weeks off calendar. The calendar

presented, had all students beginning classes on August 25, 1997, taking off two weeks in November and again in December, 4 weeks off in March and 8 weeks off in July and August.

Comfort indicated the 45/15 calendar was supported by research showing it to be best from an education standpoint. He said tests have shown that student retention drops off dramatically after 4 to 6 weeks. Longer periods off require longer periods of review when classes resume.

Some members of the audience complained that such a schedule could

interfere with family vacations and if applied to high school grades, especially, would complicate school sports participation, some class scheduling and summer jobs. The second plan, the 60/20 calendar seemed to be favored by those concerned with family and sports schedules.

The board was accused of promoting alternative calendars as a way of twisting voters' arms to approve a bond issue. Board member Harold Gott said there are educational benefits in alternative calendars, but the issue is that the school simply has no other way to turn but to eventually go to multi-track calendars.

He said the district cannot, realistically, get a bond measure on the ballot until the general election in 1998. Even if it passed, it would not be up and furnished before 2001.

As to multi-track scheduling he said he is "not sure I like it either, but I am certain we will have to have multi-track."

Leslee Bangs, chairman of an earlier committee which had studied future facilities needs and year round education, said multi-tracking will be triggered by population increases, "it is a numbers situation."

Steve Swisher said Measure 47 requires that a majority of registered voters vote in off-year elections or measure will be nullified. History, he indicated, does not show much promise of getting more than 50 percent of the electorate out to vote. Measures presented in general elections, in even-numbered years, can be approved by a majority of those voting. The next general election is in 1998.

The measure, he said, also prohibits bond issues to finance facilities furnishings and other ancillary equipment, such as computers. The result being, if a construction bond measure is passed, the district could very likely not have the funds to furnish and operate a new facility. He said more will be known on the availability of money for operating schools when the legislature meets, beginning in January, 1997.