Editorial: School choices

Local school districts across Kansas are being forced to make decisions that are a step backward for their students.

Lawrence Journal-World opinion section

Tight state funding is prompting some Kansas school districts to make tough choices — choices that, in some cases, they believe are not in the best interests of their students.

Last week, teachers in the Wichita school district approved a calendar for next year that adds 30 minutes to each school day but shortens the school year by 15 days. The move has nothing to do with improving education; it’s all about trying to trim $3 million from next year’s budget.

“Everyone agrees this is not what is best for kids,” said Steve Wentz, president of the Wichita teachers union. “Three weeks less of student contact is not what the students in (USD) 259 need.”

Nonetheless, the Wichita school board is expected to ratify the teachers’ decision. Faced with a $23 million increase in expenses and no increase in state funding, board members see this as their best option — preferable to other steps such as eliminating elementary and middle school librarian positions, eliminating high school data leaders and outsourcing custodial management.

Wichita isn’t the only Kansas district forced to make such unpleasant choices. The Caney Valley district in southeast Kansas went to a four-day week for the last five weeks of this school year in order to fill a $70,000 budget gap. A shorter year has not been part of the Lawrence school district’s budget discussions — at least so far.

So, next year, Wichita students will go to school for 158 days instead of 173 days, as they did this year. The switch will save the district money by reducing transportation and utility costs and reducing the need for substitute teachers. But students likely will pay a price. Adding 30 minutes to each day isn’t the same as 15 more days of instruction. A shorter school year means a longer summer break, more time for students to forget what they learned last year.

While education researchers are looking at year-round school models to improve retention levels and academic performance, districts in Kansas are going in the other direction. State school finance decisions have forced Kansas school districts to spend most of their time weighing unpleasant decisions instead of focusing on how best to serve the students in their charge.