Editor, The News:
Re: Trustees favour two-week spring break (The News, March 11).
Do the school board trustees think that the parents have their heads in the sand?
Here are a few points that jumped out at me from the article:
1) They seemed to assume that all the schools that have half-day Fridays will be just fine with this schedule. Those schools have not gotten rid of the half-days because, for the most part, all the families like them or they would have voted them out.
These schools also dismiss later than others by about 15 or 20 minutes, which makes it easier for many parents to pick up because it isn’t at 2:10 p.m. (Notice that this fact wasn’t in the letter that came home with our children.)
2) The high schools will no longer have a late start on the first Friday of each month. (This wasn’t in the letter that came home either).
3) I am curious about the pay for all the employees in the school district who aren’t teachers, like the secretaries and janitors. Do they still get their pay over the two-week closure?
I would assume they don’t. That would create quite the savings for the school board.
Do you really believe that just by not having teachers on-call as well as utility and bussing costs that it will save that much?
4) The quote from Dave Rempel stating, “If a teacher comes back energized, learning will improve,” actually made me giggle.
If a teacher is not a good teacher, then it really doesn’t matter how much energy they have.
And isn’t this suppose to be about the children?
Also, I would like to ask if the teachers receive their full pay if the school is closed for two weeks? I don’t hear teachers fighting back about this, so I am thinking that they do.
5) Do you really think that families that can afford to take a vacation at spring break won’t be taking one because it isn’t a two-week break?
Many families utilize the one week that is presently available for vacations and seem to have a good time.
6) I find it interesting that the board could “offer a wider array of programs, thus increasing choice,” yet we are losing the choices that we had as parents for what works for us.
7) As for the survey, go online and complete it, and when you do, make sure that you leave your comments about how this will affect, or not affect you. The school board trustees need to hear from everyone.
Lorraine Trulsen
Maple Ridge