2-mill School Request Said Possible

The possibilities of an operational millage election next spring for "close to 2 milis" and of the introduction next fall of a. new type of flexible scheduling at Pioneer High School were presented to about 150 persons attending a recent PTO meeting at Pioneer High School. These and other issues were discussed at the two-hour session. Featured speakers were School Supt. W. Scott Westerman Jr. and Pioneer High Principal Theodore R. Rokicki. This week's meeting was the fisrt time Westerman had publicly predicted that a nearly two-mill increase in school taxes for Ann Arbor School District residents next spring might be needed. A total of 35.97 milis for operations and debt service is being levied this year on residents. This is a hike of 3.39 milis over the 196869 levy. Westerman stressed that his estímate is preliminary, and would depend on the amount of state aid received by the school district. He also explained his estimate assumes an increase of about 800 pupils next year, and a "similar rate" of wage increases for teachers and other school personnel. The superintendent also announced for the first time tha.t prospects are "very dim" at the present time for selling the $4.9 million worth of bonds for the city's fifth junior high school. The bonds were approved by the voters June 9. Westerman told The News the school district had not yet tried to sell the bonds, but that the eurrent interest rate all over Michigan is higher than the 6 per cent figure to which school districts now are limited by law. Deiay in selling the bonds means a delay in construction of the school, to be located at Nixon and Bluett Rds. on the city's northeast side. Westerman said last spring that doublé shifts at the city's existing junior highs are a "real possibility" by the f all of 1971 if the fifth junior high isn't built and open by that time. Principal Rokicki told the audience he and his staff are presently investigating the possibility of taking a "small step" toward modular scheduling called the "Floating Period Schedule." He stressed that their investigations are still in the preliminary stages, and that a. decisión will be made by late January on whether to switch to the "Floating Period Schedule" next September. Rokicki said he does not recommend a switch to full modular scheduling at this time, which provides for a large number of short class periods and large amounts of free time in school for the students. The principal said he feels true modular scheduling is a "giant step," which cannot be handled by all students and which has been tried and droppedby anumberof schools, including Troy High School. The "Floating Period Schedule" would allow students to take six classes, each meeting four times per week. Presently, most students take six classes which meet five times per week. Under the new schedule, the classes would meet for 60 minutes per day instead of 55. This would decrease the number of minutes in the classroom per week from 275 minutes to 240, and would decrease the number of teaching hours for instructors from 25 hours to 20. The decrease in teaching hours, Rokicki said, would give teachers more time to meet with students for individual tutoring and counseling. The classes would include a floating period which would meet during a different time period each day. No classes would meet during the last two periods one day per week, allowing this time to be used for assemblies, standardized testing or extra-curricular activities. The system would allow no time for study halls. Rockicki listed some advantages of the floating schedule as: - lncreased flexibility for the students ; - lncreased independent study time; - Greater variety in student programming.