Who is in Charge? – You cannot be serious

A recent article in the Idaho Statesman makes one wonder who is running the show over in the Meridian School District. This year, parents and students are being presented with a complicated scheduling regimen designed to, well, just be complicated. According to the Statesman article, every Wednesday all district schools will start 15 minutes later.   All buses will operate on that day 15 minutes later and all students commuting to school by walking or other means should plan to arrive at school 15 minutes later as well. So basically, for just one day a week, parents will be expected to get their children up later and show up for work later, and everyone — from siblings to employers — will have to work around the new schedule.   

According to the article this massive upheaval is necessary in order to provide teachers with 45 minutes for planning.   For the 2009/2010 school year, a similar plan was in effect with buses on their regular schedule but school actually starting 15 minutes later, resulting in a supervision problems for the school.  So, instead of doing the obvious, the district passed the problem on to the parents.

Providing 45 minutes a week for teachers to plan and to collaborate with other teachers is certainly appropriate and defensible. However, to change the weekly schedule for 20,000 kids is not.   What is wrong with asking teachers to arrive at school 15 minutes early on that day?

Nothing, but obviously the teacher’s union wanted things its own way.  So, who is in charge, the school board that represents the parents of those 20,000 kids and thousands of taxpayers or the teachers union?

Not hard to figure out is it?