School District 27J: School crowding issues will force 27J to consider year-round calendar, extended day schedules Overflowing classrooms will likely lead to year-round education and extended school days for School District 27J students, according to an independent report released today. The School Facilities and Capital Contingency Plan was written by Western Demographics, a group of independent experts who help school districts manage crowding issues. The district has seen steady sustained growth for more than 10 years. This growth forced the district to close open enrollment to out-of-district students at four schools for the 2014-2015 school year. Enrollment growth is expected to accelerate to a rate of 600 to 1,000 students per year over the next five years. Shannon Bingham wrote in an executive summary of his report. “…the five-year challenges in the district are extreme and require significant actions that will change the way 27J School District delivers programs.” The report recommends that: Year round education be implemented at the elementary level beginning in the 2016-17 school year. Extended day scheduling be implemented at the secondary level with a potential two-period extension at middle school and an eventual three-period extension at the high school. The high school day could be extended by one period as soon as the 2015-16 school year with an additional period added beginning with the 2016-17 school year. Modular classrooms be added to middle schools beginning with the 2015-16 school year, and that middle schools extend the school day by one period beginning with the 2016-17 school year, with additional period extensions as needed. “There is no foreseeable end to this district’s enrollment growth. We may surpass 17,000 students during the 2014-15 school year and we will be a district of more than 20,000 students in the near future,” said 27J Superintendent of Schools Dr. Chris Fiedler. “We have worked to squeeze everything we can out of our budget, but we have simply run out of options. The state offers us no help for our crowding issues. If we cannot raise additional revenue for the new students, we will see longer school days and year-round schedules. That’s why we are reaching out to the community for answers.” The contingency plan suggests the district use 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years as planning years to prepare for the implementation of year-round and extended day scheduling.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 20:34:35 +0000
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