Godfrey's Year-'round School Proposal Detailed

(EDITOR'S NOTE: FIRST'OF FOUR ARTICLES) Board of Education Trustee WilIiam.C. Godfrey proposed two weeks ago that a popular referedum be held within six to eight months on the establishment of year-'round school operations in Ann Arbor. More specifically, Godfrey suggested that the "quarterly" plan (one of four all-year plans most comnionly mentioned) be instituted by the fall of 1970. This means that three-quarters of the students would be in school at all times, with onequarter on vacation at all times on a rotating basis. If this plan were ïmplemeated, Godfrey contends that a spring or summer bonding election would be unnecessary, because 12-month operation of the schools would "increase our existing schools' capacities by onethird," and would have the same effect as building $18 million worth of new school buildings. Acting Supt. W. Scott Wester man Jr. has recommended tha three public hearings be held o Godfrey's proposal starting nex Wednesday. He a 1 s o recom m e n d s in-depth study of th an by the professional staff nd trustees. A four-part series on the pros nd cons of year-'round school perations begins today, with he printing of the entire'text f Trustee Godfrey's proposal, resented at the Board of Eduation meeting Feb. 14. The ourth and final article will mine o th er types oi yearround programs and current rends today. Godfrey's statement follows: "There is a certain unrest mong the people concerning axes; the evidence is clear as we look at local money elecions all over the country. The dissatisfaction in Ann Arbor has hown itself eloquently in three defeats of school money questions within the last year. "My experience wilh school construction costs and teacher salary demands, coupled with ;he understandable resistance by taxpayers to new taxes on their resources has led me to the following conclusions : "We can no longer afford to allow the bulk of our school plant to stand idle in the summer, and we can no longer a ford to lay off most of ou teaching staff in the summe The bargaining power of teach r organizations will inevitably ause school districts to go to ear-'round operations in order ;o get teacher compensation nto a situation comparable to ïat of other employers of peronnel who have college derees. The primary obstacle to ie mitigation of the disputes nd disruptions, now common n teacher-school system negoïations, is the 'down-time' in ie summer- when most teachrs' professional capacities are not used, along with the persis;ent drive by teachers' bargainers to get compensation which equals that paid degreed peo pie who are employed year 'round. "Because the movement to year-'round operation of the schools is inevitable, I recommend the following plan instead of the bonding propos al we have beendiscussing: "1) The system should implement a plan for year-round operation of the schools to be in effect by the 1970-71 school year. "2) The year - round plan should be on a quarterly basis, wherein three-quarters of t h enrollment would be in sehoo at all times, with one-quarte on vacation at all times. Ther voulcl be a Fáll Quarter (Sepember, October, November) a Winter Quarter (December, anuary, February), a Spring Quarter (March, April, May), nd Summer Quarter (June, uly, August)). Since the aforeescribed operation has the efect of increasing our existing chools' capacities by one-third, :here would be no need to build any new schools for at least the next decade (based on current enrollment projections). "3) Instead of a bond issue to finance the still - needed Service Facility and Administration Building, the Library expansions, and the renovations to existing buildings, I recommend that millage for a sinking fund be approved. Those projects total about $2.3 million, and 2% milis for two y e a r s would be enough to cover them; this would avoid the high interest rates now required in the bond market, and should be acceptable to the taxpayers. "4) Teachers' salaries should be increased on a straight line basis; i.e., a teacher who is at MA maximum on our schedule now, $11,070, for teaching the 180 days required by law, wouldl receive one-third more or $14,760 for teaching 240 days, the four quarters. Vacation under the four-quarter employment schedule would be "normal" on the basis familiar to most. "The effect of the year-'round plan on building capacity is striking; for instance, Pioneer High's rated capacity goes from 2,250 to 3,000, and Huron High's from 1,800 to 2,400. In fact, the total effect would be the same as building about $18 million worth of new school buildings. The cost of don per pupil would not be in-1 creased with this plan, but the total number of teachers needed would be reduced substantially. "I have studied the concept enough to be convinced that it is quite viable; changeover problems would be considerable, but solvable. The major] factor is the willingness of the community to adjust. I suspect that the time is right. "For the purpose of determining the thinking of the voters on this matter, I suggest that the whole question be given thorough public ' discussion, and that sometime within the next six to eight months, it be put to the electorate in a referendum so that they can make a decisión. In the meantime, there should be no bonding election for the construction of new school buildings. In light of the inevitability of y e a r'round operations, the n e w schools In the current proposal would be unjustifiable, excess capacity. "As a taxpayer and a parent, I have decided that year-'round operation of the schools is the best solution to the complex financial problems which face us - both long and short run. I am ready to adjust to the fourquarter system."