CAN'T HELP BUT THINK THAT THE SB IS ENTERTAINING THIS AMENDMENT SIMPLY TO GET THEM THROUGH THE NEXT ROUND OF SB ELECTIONS. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY IF THIS DRAGS ON FOR 5 YEARS?
The school board will vote this Thursday on the late bell proposal.
Supporters of the proposal continue to advocate VERY STRONGLY that
"the majority of people want a later schedule."
Many board members -- possibly a majority -- also FIRMLY believe this position.
There's one proposed amendment that addresses transportation issues
("reasonable" pick-up and drop-off times) but also allows the board to
change school start and end times. This amendment bypasses the
recommendations of the Transportation Task Force by introducing
totally new suggestions that haven't been studied by the community.
It provides few details (what will those cut-off times be and WHO will
decide?) Will MORE money, time & energy be spent on studying this
issue? Or, perhaps worse, will the School Board ignore community input
and their own Task Force by approving a new, un-vetted solution?
It also continues to combine two separate issues: finding
transportation efficiencies AND pushing for later start times as one
bundled issue. In this economic climate, it is time to separate these
two issues so the Board can concentrate on cost-cutting. (Even in the
most recent proposal, implementing a late-bell schedule COSTS money.)
You can find more details about the amendment on the WAKE web site:
http://wakefairfax.googlepages.com/pneamendmentnotes.pdf
The issue has been studied for over 10 years. A strong majority of
students, parents, and employees just gave the Board overwhelming
feedback that they are satisfied with the current schedules and that
changing schedules introduces costs and hardships. (Check out the
"Task Force Statements" on the web site.)
Supporters of changing the schedule believe that the only solution to
improve the health and well-being of our teen students is to change
the school schedule. Other research on sleep, mental health, and teen
driving suggest that there are other options out there to protect and
improve the well-being of our teens.
So, please communicate with the school board. If you think that the
Board should still continue to work for later start times, then you
can let them know they're on the right track. If you think that the
board should NOT continue to work for later start times, they need to
hear from you.
Here are the School Board's email addresses:
"Bradsher, Elizabeth" , "Center, Brad"
, "Gibson, Stuart"
,"Hone, Martina"
,"Kory, Kaye" ,
jack.dale@fcps.edu, "Moon, Ilryong" ,"N
Eichner, Phil" ,
pam.goddard@fcps.edu, "Raney,
James" ,"Smith, Kathy L."
,"Storck, Daniel" ,
"Strauss, Jane" ,"Wilson, Tessie"