No way, this crowd says
By B.C. Manion
Facing a deficit that could reach $40 million, the Pasco County School District is looking at the possibility of shortening its school week to four days – an idea that drew an avalanche of protests at a public meeting last week at Rushe Middle School, in Land O’ Lakes.
Steve Luikart, the school board member chairing the district’s Four-Day School Week Task Force, told a crowd of more than 100 people that a 36-member committee is examining the issue from every angle.
“We are still in the information-gathering stage. This is not an information-sharing stage. We want to make sure you’re part of the information that’s going to the board,” Luikart emphasized, before launching into a Powerpoint presentation.
The presentation contained facts about the school district’s budget, the committees that are working on the task force and information about four-day school weeks, including potential merits of the approach.
If the Powerpoint was meant to inform, however, it only seemed to inflame.
“I came here having an open mind,” said Ian Boyle, of Wesley Chapel. “I was hoping to listen to some pros and cons.
“You gave me the positives of a 4-day week,” Boyle said, adding he was disappointed by the district’s lack of specifics about the potential impacts of a four-day school week.
Angie Johnson, of Odessa, told Luikart that she was sure he sincerely believed the Powerpoint was a good presentation. However, she said, its tone “feels very positive.” She offered to lend her expertise to future presentations, to assure a more balanced approach.
“I thank you for looking outside the box,” said Dawn Chiarenza, of Trinity. However, she suggested the district consider some other cost-cutting ideas. “Maybe we should look at putting the offices on a four-day work week,” she said.
Several speakers mentioned practical concerns, such as providing childcare when schools are out, fitting in extracurricular activities with a longer school day and trying to help their tired children with homework after such a long day.
Several people shared Peggy D’Alessandro’s concerns about potential negative impacts on student learning. “Missing that fifth day of school every week is detrimental,” said the woman who described herself as being very active in her school’s PTA.
Two women said that school bus drivers, kitchen workers and other support personnel would take a financial hit from a shorter work week.
One woman said she’s worried about children whose only meals are the breakfast and lunch they eat at school.
Luikart said the issues raised at the forums are being researched by the task force, which will present its report to the school board. He told speakers the purpose of the three public forums was to give people the opportunity to raise issues.
There are hundreds of school districts operating on a four-day week, Luikart said. But none of them are quite like Pasco County, he added.
“Pasco County is the biggest district in the United States that’s even looking at this,” he said.
Of dozens of speakers, just one offered outright support.
“I’m a huge proponent of the four-day school week,” said Dana Livesay, of Land O’ Lakes.
Luikart told the crowd that additional public forums would be held if the school board decides to pursue a four-day week.
The task force is scheduled to present its report at a school board workshop at 4 p.m. on March 20. The public is welcome to attend, but these sessions generally are not open for public comment.
