Good Evening,

There are some questions and concerns involving the Proposed One Calendar:
I am here to speak in favor of:

CHOICE—Choice for parents


(1) When the district was contemplating changing the multi-track year round schedule to a single track year-round, you were gracious and thoughtful by scheduling community meetings with both Browns Valley and Cooper school sites and their staffs and parents. This approach was very successful and allowed for questions, concerns and information to be considered with open communication from all perspectives.

2) Now that the district is considering one calendar for the entire school district, why
hasn’t the same courtesy been extended to ALL school sites with meetings or
town hall gatherings for parents and staffs? What happened to communication?

(3) Claims of the benefits conferred by a single calendar are purely speculative and no data has been presented. Where is the detailed budget analysis?

4) In the past, teachers have formed committees of fellow teachers to put calendars
together for both traditional and year round schedules. Then it is presented to the entire
teacher population and voted upon. No administrators have ever taken part in this
process yet it has worked and worked well! It is then submitted to the school board for approval. What has changed
in this procedure and why?

The success of our year round schools has been ongoing for over 17 years. Year round, like charter schools, magnet schools and private schools afford parents choices for their children.

We come before you AGAIN tonight to ask you to leave our year round and traditional schools alone. We come before you AGAIN tonight to ask you to leave our year round and traditional calendars alone.

This is more than just an administrative matter. It affects a broad constituency including students, parents, & teachers. Please consider the full scope of this issue including the impact on the day to day lives of those most affected before you make a final decision. Thank you for your consideration.

Marisa Emlen