Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Board looks to calendar for answers in budget

by Rachel Lane/Times-Georgian

The fiscal year 2012 budget for Carroll County Schools has not been finalized and some board members see it as a document that still needs some work.

The board members asked for information about how a four-day school week and starting after Labor Day would affect the budget. Because of limited time to compile research, the board approved a traditional calendar, with school scheduled to start on August 10, but asked for more research into a four-day school week to be considered for next year.

Starting school in September, rather than in August as was planned would save the school system $60,000 if none of the buildings were used at all during the month of August. Superintendent Scott Cowart said athletic events are already scheduled for the month of August and it did not seem as if it would save much if any money.

Kathy Rogers, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning, researched a four-day school week but ran into problems because there are limited resources.

Only seven counties in the state have switched to a four-day school week to save money, including Haralson County. But it is a recent change and there is limited research about how it affects student achievement and student attention span. The days are longer.

Rogers said there is some research that indicates there is no change in student achievement. Other research indicates that special education students and at risk students do worse in the modified schedule. A three-day weekend is to long a break for them to retain the information.

Read more:Times-Georgian - Board looks to calendar for answers in budget

No comments:

Post a Comment