Year Round Education

Sen. Christopher J. McCabe has withdrawn his bill to require voter approval before Howard County schools could switch to year-round education, eliminating one of the most contentious disputes between the legislative delegation and the school board.Last month, the school board rejected year-round education in Howard, which had been proposed as a way to limit construction of new schools. Members said they believed there would be enough money for construction to meet projected enrollment increases without the calendar switch.

Board froze public out on year-round issueThe League of Women Voters of Howard County is very concerned with the process involved in the vote on Dec. 14, 1995, on year-round schools for Howard County. This arbitrary decision did not include the public.The county Board of Education's action abrogated the decision-making process which normally includes citizen input. Our citizens were lead to believe that their voices were important and welcomed, as this brief history of events outlines.The board received the year-round education committee's report on Oct. 26, 1995 at a regular meeting, at which time an agenda was announced for public participation on the question.

Year-round education received a mixed reception from the Howard County school board last night as board members learned of how the proposal might work in the county's elementary and middle schools.Board members asked dozens of questions on the specifics of the yearlong study, which concluded that Howard schools could successfully stretch the traditional 10-month calendar to 12 months.No board members immediately endorsed the idea, and at least one strongly opposed the switch.Board members have said spring would be the earliest they would make any decision, and the earliest that any switch could occur would be July 1997.

ONE OF THE arguments being used by local proponents of year-round schools is that they could help troubled institutions such as Severn's Van Bokkelen Elementary, where social problems breed poor pupil performance. Without a doubt, a year-round calendar or even longer school days which would extend the calendar beyond the state-mandated 180 days ought to be considered for Van Bokkelen.Schools in similarly impoverished, transient communities, such as Robert W. Coleman Elementary in West Baltimore, have found that year-round schooling promotes stability and cuts down on "summer learning loss," especially with remedial students, who account for a disproportionately large percentage of the population at such schools.

Striking a conciliatory tone, members of the Howard County legislative delegation pledged yesterday to work closely with the county school board on proposed bills that have rankled Howard educators.At a joint morning meeting, delegation and board members also promised to work together to secure as much school construction funding as they can during the General Assembly's 1996 session, which begins Wednesday.The move toward reconciliation between the school board and the delegation comes after an autumn in which members of the board repeatedly said they were "under attack" by proposed local bills, including legislation on performance audits and year-round education.

The Howard County school system's recent year-round education report -- which claimed the calendar switch could save the county millions of dollars by not building four new schools -- neglected to take into account one thing:Construction is scheduled to begin on two of those schools by spring.And school officials say there are no plans to delay construction of these two schools -- thus wiping out all of the projected savings from the year-round schedule.The year-round school report was touted two weeks ago as potentially saving the Howard schools $15.7 million over 20 years -- mainly from the county not having to build four elementaries scheduled to open from 1997 to 1999.

The Howard County school board rejected the idea of year-round education last night, saying the calendar switch is unnecessary because enough money is committed for school construction.The board made its 4-1 decision seven weeks after it heard a report concluding that Howard schools could switch effectively to year-round classes to accommodate enrollment growth and save money.But board members, fearful of not having enough money to keep pace with enrollment, said they thought the state had now committed enough money to ensure that the school system will be able to build enough elementary schools by 2001, when Howard's elementary school enrollment is projected to peak at 19,500.

A Howard County forum on year-round education brought out more than 200 curious citizens who left with mixed reactions to the idea of a different school-year calendar.Some parents who attended yesterday's forum in Ellicott City said that they needed more information on year-round education, a nationally growing trend that has attracted Gov. William Donald Schaefer's attention as a possible solution to costly school construction.The forum, believed to be the first of its kind in the state, comes as the governor pushes school districts to test year-round education as early as next school year.

The Howard County school system is refiguring the costs of year-round education and should have a new estimate ready by the time the school board makes its decision in April, associate superintendent Maurice Kalin said yesterday.The costs need to be recalculated because the initial report included savings based on the assumption that two new elementary schools would not be built. However, construction of those two schools will have begun by the time the school board makes its decision.The 90-member committee that wrote the report was aware construction would begin on the two new elementary schools in the spring, Dr. Kalin said.

Howard County's elementary and middle schools could save the county $579,000 annually by going to a year-round schedule and make the transition with just a year of planning time, according to a report to be presented to the county school board tonight.The report concludes that the scheduling change is a viable option if the county government does not provide enough funds to build the new schools needed to keep pace with growing enrollment.But the state-funded, 27-page report -- a copy of which was obtained by The Sun -- makes no recommendation about whether the Howard school system should stretch its traditional 10-month school calendar over 12 months.

Sen. Christopher J. McCabe has withdrawn his bill to require voter approval before Howard County schools could switch to year-round education, eliminating one of the most contentious disputes between the legislative delegation and the school board.Last month, the school board rejected year-round education in Howard, which had been proposed as a way to limit construction of new schools. Members said they believed there would be enough money for construction to meet projected enrollment increases without the calendar switch.

Striking a conciliatory tone, members of the Howard County legislative delegation pledged yesterday to work closely with the county school board on proposed bills that have rankled Howard educators.At a joint morning meeting, delegation and board members also promised to work together to secure as much school construction funding as they can during the General Assembly's 1996 session, which begins Wednesday.The move toward reconciliation between the school board and the delegation comes after an autumn in which members of the board repeatedly said they were "under attack" by proposed local bills, including legislation on performance audits and year-round education.

The Howard County school board rejected the idea of year-round education last night, saying the calendar switch is unnecessary because enough money is committed for school construction.The board made its 4-1 decision seven weeks after it heard a report concluding that Howard schools could switch effectively to year-round classes to accommodate enrollment growth and save money.But board members, fearful of not having enough money to keep pace with enrollment, said they thought the state had now committed enough money to ensure that the school system will be able to build enough elementary schools by 2001, when Howard's elementary school enrollment is projected to peak at 19,500.

The Howard County school system is refiguring the costs of year-round education and should have a new estimate ready by the time the school board makes its decision in April, associate superintendent Maurice Kalin said yesterday.The costs need to be recalculated because the initial report included savings based on the assumption that two new elementary schools would not be built. However, construction of those two schools will have begun by the time the school board makes its decision.The 90-member committee that wrote the report was aware construction would begin on the two new elementary schools in the spring, Dr. Kalin said.

THE LAST GASP of a plan that was drowning anyway was heard in Howard County this week. By admitting they had made a mistake in calculating the savings that could be rendered from a conversion to year-round schools, officials have all but called it quits on promoting the idea.School Superintendent Michael E. Hickey labeled it "pretty much" a dead issue this week, after it was learned that the calculations were faulty. Dr. Hickey blames the mistake on timing, saying that the board's refusal to take up the issue of year-round schools until next April prompted officials to proceed with more expensive school construction projects.

The Howard County school system's recent year-round education report -- which claimed the calendar switch could save the county millions of dollars by not building four new schools -- neglected to take into account one thing:Construction is scheduled to begin on two of those schools by spring.And school officials say there are no plans to delay construction of these two schools -- thus wiping out all of the projected savings from the year-round schedule.The year-round school report was touted two weeks ago as potentially saving the Howard schools $15.7 million over 20 years -- mainly from the county not having to build four elementaries scheduled to open from 1997 to 1999.

EDUCATION OFFICIALS studying year-round schooling in Howard County have revealed it for what it is: not an experiment, but a form of political extortion.It's another ugly alternative for officials to dangle over the heads of county officials and say, "If you don't give more money for school construction, you'll get year-round schools -- but good."Why else would officials conclude in a report that year-round education would save a half-million dollars annually and could be accomplished quickly -- opposite the findings of some other Maryland school systems -- and then withhold a recommendation?

The Howard County PTA Council expressed its concerns over the school board's handling of a study of year-round education at yesterday's school board meeting.Jerry Bialecki, representing the PTA Council, told the board that holding meetings of the study committee during regular business hours prevented working parents from participating.Reading from a statement prepared by the PTA Council's executive board, Mr. Bialecki brought up other concerns.The public does not understand why the school system is looking at year-round education and how it "may adversely affect the monetary support from local and state governments as far as funding of the capital budget," he read.

EDUCATION OFFICIALS studying year-round schooling in Howard County have revealed it for what it is: not an experiment, but a form of political extortion.It's another ugly alternative for officials to dangle over the heads of county officials and say, "If you don't give more money for school construction, you'll get year-round schools -- but good."Why else would officials conclude in a report that year-round education would save a half-million dollars annually and could be accomplished quickly -- opposite the findings of some other Maryland school systems -- and then withhold a recommendation?

The Howard County school board will decide in April whether to place the county's elementary and middle schools on a year-round calendar.The board agreed late Thursday night to make a decision during its April 25 meeting. The board scheduled a public hearing for April 2 and a public work session for April 18.The decision was delayed until April to give members of the community time to study a report presented to the board Thursday night explaining how the traditional 10-month calendar could be stretched to 12 months.