School Board Revisits Voluntary Year-Round System

At its Committee of the Whole meeting yesterday, the Board of Education revisited the planning assumption of opening all new schools on the year-round calendar.

Staff shared that to return to a voluntary year-round system in 2010-11 would require an additional seven elementary and two middle schools -- above the 25 already opening between 2006 and 2010 -- at an additional cost of $285 million. Changing the planning assumption of opening all new schools as year-round would also require an additional three elementary schools and one middle to open between 2011-2015 -- above the 21 in the next five-year capital improvement program -- at a cost of $143 million. The next CIP was estimated at $1.027 billion.

However, staff pointed out that these numbers are probably low as the next building program is based on enrollment projections from 2006, which indicate a declining rate of growth during 2011-2015. Chuck Dulaney, assistant superintendent for Growth and Planning, said that the growth projections for five years or further out are less certain and lower than what will likely occur.

At a special meeting February 1, the Board of Education directed staff to determine how many new schools would be needed to return to a voluntary year-round system, how much it would cost and how soon it could occur. This directive was in response to the commissioners' announcement of deferring money for converting 22 schools to the year-round calendar in July 2007 and their suggestion of moving up the next bond referendum to fall 2007.

Returning to a voluntary year-round system, similar to what was in place in 2005, means filling year-round schools mostly by application and maintaining a ratio of approximately one out of every six schools opening on the year-round calendar.

Staff shared that simply moving up a bond would not add classroom seats before the 2010 school year, due to the time needed for finding land, design, permitting and construction. With an additional 8,000 students projected for 2007-08, and only five new schools opening, WCPSS will still need to transition the 19 elementary and three middle schools to the year-round calendar in July to meet enrollment increases.

While school board members stressed that they are not necessarily for or against moving up a bond, they do see the suggestion as an opportunity to revisit the planning assumptions agreed to by both the Board of Education and Board of County Commissioners in September 2005, which included opening all new elementary and middle schools on the year-round calendar as a way to decrease costs.

The additional $430 million would only address returning to voluntary year-round; it would not decrease the level of crowding or reduce the number of mobile/modular classroom units.

Board Chair Patti Head said that the school board would have preferred all along to keep a voluntary year-round system, but that they were "boxed in" by extreme growth and limited resources. Schools on the multi-track year-round calendar can serve 20 percent to 33 percent more students than schools on the traditional calendar because at any given time, three of four groups of students are in session. For every three schools on the year-round calendar, that's one less school that WCPSS needs to build.

WCPSS gained 7,500 students for the 2006-07 school year.

Posted by Kristin Flenniken at 02:31 PM on February 21, 2007 | Leave Feedback

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