The Learnin' Calendar

Should the 2006-07 school year begin on Aug. 15 or Aug. 21? The AISD board of trustees has to decide, and has been busily soliciting public input on the matter. According to state law, school cannot start earlier than the week in which Aug. 21 falls unless the district gets a waiver from the Texas Education Agency. Most Texas districts ignore the law and start mid-August, however – last year, about three in four Texas districts received waivers and sent students back to school as early as Aug. 1.

A committee of parents, teachers, and administrators will make a final recommendation for the trustees, who will vote on Jan. 23. The committee appears to be leaning toward the earlier start. At a recent hearing, however, about a dozen parents showed up to testify vigorously in favor of a later start date. The parents bemoaned the annoyance of winter break starting 10 days before Christmas. They bewailed the health hazards of sending kids back to school (or band practice) in mid-August when the asphalt is a-sizzlin', and pointed out that those hot summer days also drive up the district's air-conditioning costs. The parents said a later start could be achieved if the district got rid of some of the teacher development days that translate into three-day weekends for students, which they said created child-care hardships for working parents, anyway. The parents also expressed concern that the district hadn't made enough of an effort to make sure parents knew about the hearing. "How much is our opinion really, really wanted?" asked Lila Levinson, who has students at Austin High and Fulmore Middle School.

An earlier start has advantages as well: Because so many districts start school early, a later start puts students at a bit of a disadvantage in their football games and standardized tests. An early start enables the district to end the first semester before winter break, and because it corresponds better with college schedules, it makes it easier for teachers to beef up their qualifications over the summer.

Parents wanting to vote one way or the other can e-mail the trustees at [email protected].Austin ISD begins the 2006-7 school year