A parent group is rallying to defend a Lawrence public school district program that permits high school students to take an extra class each semester.
"You cannot jeopardize the future of students by eliminating options for them," said Cindy Monshizadeh, who has a child at Lawrence High School.
Response to the course-limit idea is the tip of the iceberg in terms of fury school board members, district administrators and the district's budget committee members can expect to receive for the next few months during a search for as much as $5 million in cost cutting.
The district's budget committee is studying a proposal to limit high school students to no more than six classes each semester. More than 325 high school students take an extra class each semester. If adopted by the board, elimination of that program would trim the equivalent of five teachers from the payroll and reduce expenses by $222,000 a year.
A group of Lawrence parents, including Karen Frick, Anne Schulman, Kala Patterson and Monshizadeh, say the seven-class day should remain a fixture at Free State High School and LHS.
They told the school board Monday that students voluntarily assume a more rigorous course load so they can also fit art, orchestra, band or choral classes into their schedule. Extra academic work better prepares them for college, they said.
"I'm afraid we're going to end up an island of mediocrity instead of an island of excellence," said Patterson, an LHS parent.
Others are making their voice heard in regard to what the district ought to protect in its budget trimming.
Board member Scott Morgan said the last place the district should look for savings is in kindergarten- through third-grade classrooms.
"Looking to increase the (teacher-to-student) ratio at elementary schools? That's the last thing I'd want to do," he said.
Board member Austin Turney said he wasn't pleased a district committee was tinkering with elementary school enrollment information in ways that could spark rumors about possible elementary school closings.
That dialogue is premature and improperly delves into politically sensitive areas, he said. Five years ago, the board's plan to close four elementary schools met intense public opposition. The board abandoned its plan.
"That (talk) will return us to the events of 1997 with a vengeance," Turney said. He said the board should make clear nothing is "going on behind the scenes."
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