Overcrowding in Schools

Overcrowding in Schools

As our population increases, schools are being faced with the problems of overcrowding

and under funding. Many school districts are proposing a year round education program. I feel

that year round education is only a "quick fix" for school districts and will be detrimental to

teachers, children, and families. Many schools are building trailers and additions to accommodate

a higher capacity of students. Some districts are proposing building new schools. This raises

issues of changing boundarie bussing, and higher taxes. Some districts are proposing a multi-

track year round education program. On the surface, year round education seems a logical

solution to the overcrowding. Children are separated into four tracks. Each track follows a

different schedule going to school for six weeks then having three weeks off. This means that

there is a ays one track out of school. This plan increases the school''s capacity by 25%. The year

round education plan will only temporarily save taxpayers money. Schools were not made to be

year round facilities, many schools are no even air conditioned. Maintenance and janitorial staff

will need to be hired full time year round. They ll have to put in over time to get projects done

and larger projects will need to be contracted out. The additional cost for transportation, utilities,

support staff, ect, may not be worth the inconvenience. Not to mention the extra wear that a

school ill take by having children in it year round. In the long run, maintaining a school for a full

year may prove to be more costly. Staff burnout is another concern with year round education.

Teachers will no longer be able to supplement their income during the summer with ...

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...the Summer my family took

vacations. We went canoeing in the boundary waters of Canada and drove cross country on a

whim without the anticipation of getting ready for school. School plays the role of teaching

children how to learn. Summer break is a chance to apply what they have learned and enrich their

lives with personal experience. Switching to a year round education plan will be detrimental to

our children''s problem s ving skills, creativity, and happiness. Overall, I believe that there are too

many downfalls and not enough benefits to switching to year round education. Turning to year

round education as a solution to over crowding in schools would only be a temporary solution. A

year round education wo d put too much stress on our children, families, faculty, and community.

We should learn from the past and leave the traditional school year in tact.