Proposed 2009-2010 school calendar

A draft of the 2009-2010 school calendar was presented last night to school board members for review at their study session. The board is expected to take action on the calendar at its Jan. 20 regular meeting.

Developing a school calendar is a complex process driven by many variables. I would like to thank the members of our calendar committee who work together to iron out these details and create a calendar that best meets the educational needs of our students.

The committee, composed of parents, students, teachers, principals, district staff, and community members, takes into consideration myriad factors such as legal and district requirements, holidays, parent-teacher conferences, professional development and stakeholder input.

For example, state law requires a minimum number of days and hours students must be in session and requires that six inclement weather days be included in the calendar. Within those parameters, the committee also tries to schedule the first day of school to limit heat-related issues (at least until all our schools are air conditioned) but still dismiss for the year prior to Memorial Day when possible.

As you might imagine this can be a complicated puzzle to piece together.

In the proposed 2009-2010 calendar, the first day of school would be Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. This puts the last day of school before winter break as Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009. It is interesting to note that Dec. 23, 2008, was our last day before winter break this school year. We experienced very poor student attendance that day.

During discussions with my parent advisory council, some members suggested we move the first day of school to Tuesday, Aug. 25, and change the last day before winter break to Tuesday, Dec. 22.

What are your thoughts? Would you like to see the calendar approved as proposed or do you agree with modifying the calendar to start school a day earlier and release for winter break a day earlier?

Update on retirement issue

I offer a sincere thank you to Missouri U.S. Representatives and Senators for their help in addressing a proposed change in retirement regulations. On behalf of Missouri’s teachers, our Congressional delegation moved swiftly in response to a proposal by the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service to change current practices, drastically affecting the retirement benefits for some certificated staff effective July 1, 2009.

This week the SSA and IRS agreed upon prospective enforcement and said that the July 1, 2009, implementation date would be delayed. In a letter to Sen. Claire McCaskill, the agencies said it is their intention to resolve the issue by July 1, 2010. Following a 60-day evaluation period, they expect to have a better sense of future implementation plans and deadlines.

Our Congressional delegation believes that given the current positive and collaborative spirit among all groups involved, including the IRS, SSA, Missouri Office of Administration and the Public School Retirement System as well as various stakeholders in the education community, a fair and reasonable resolution will result.

We are grateful to everyone involved in these discussions for their efforts to protect the best interests of our educators.