The Gilbert Unified School District governing board could vote on the calendar for the next school year during a meeting 7 p.m. Tuesday at the district office, 140 S. Gilbert Road.
There are five options the district is considering, including two modified year-round options with a starting date as early as July 29. The Gilbert district has operated on a traditional August-to-May schedule for years. A number of districts around the country are going to modified year-round calendars. Chandler Unified School District, which operates schools within the town of Gilbert, uses a July start date and a modified year-round calendar.
The district sent out a survey to thousands of families and staff members earlier this fall to see the preference of the community. A report on the survey will be given during the board work-study session.
The board will discuss the options during a work study session beginning at 6 p.m. Information can be found on the district's governing board agenda site, www.boarddocs.com/az/gpsaz/Board.nsf.
WesternConnections posted at 6:05 pm on Mon, Dec 3, 2012.
BIG Question: Exactly who among the many GPS constituencies had input into the “five calendar options” GPS selected for this survey? We wonder why only these five options are offered. (Yes, it’s the Gilbert way to offer a pre-ordained set of constrained choices and then claim that the community has spoken.) We’ve heard many people say that starting school at the hottest point of the year (July/August) is crazy and expensive in this climate; they were advocating for the traditional school dates of post-Labor Day through early June. According to SRP, the absolutely most expensive time of the year for electricity is July 1-August 31 each year. SRP distinguishes those “Summer Peak Hours” from regular “Summer Hours” (May 1-June 30 and Sept 1-Oct 31) for their time-of-use discounts for valley residents and businesses.
Based on what we’ve seen the GPS administration do in the past, the current board probably will be told that they MUST vote on this RIGHT NOW on December 4th, that there’s no other option than whatever he has already decided GPS will do. Ready, Fire, Aim!! Don’t let the new board members (who will have to live with this decision) have any input! http://westieconnect.com/archives/172