Editorial: It’s too late to reset the start date
Students arrive at Glendale’s Hoover High School, welcomed by donuts from the cheerleading team, for the first day of school on Aug. 10, 2015. Despite complaints by parents that Glendale schools start too early, the school board declined to move the date for the 2016-17 from its established Aug. 8 date, though it said it will consider moving the date back for future academic terms.
Though we understand the frustration parents must feel about having their children start school in early August, we are inclined to agree with the majority of the school board who this week declined to consider changing the established Aug. 8 start date for the 2016-17 academic year.
Doing so would have required the board to reopen negotiations with the Glendale teachers’ union, a move that has a high likelihood of headaches for all involved. Added into GUSD’s more pressing matters — choosing a new superintendent among them — piling on a change to the calendar is not a good idea at this time.
That being said, we’re on the side of the Glendale parents objecting to the current calendar. The second week of August is simply too early for students to start. Families have vacations to plan, and August is a month for play, not work. The board majority stated it would strongly consider moving the date back for the 2017-18 year. We very much hope they do.
— The opinion of the News-Press