Maybe I can’t find it, but there doesn’t seem to be an online link to a survey that was sent to parents of the Sioux Falls school district;
The emailed survey asks whether they’d like the school year to start before or after Labor Day. The survey also asks whether high school semester tests should be given before or after the December break.
“It seems the most emotion is raised when you begin the year and when you end the year,” said Sioux Falls School District superintendent Brian Maher.
Maher said that emotion has quite a history in the district. Last year, city voters passed a measure to begin the Sioux Falls school year after Labor Day, going again the school board’s previous calendar starts which hit before the holiday.
Notice voters decided the school start date, and it should be no different this time around. I think parents, students and teachers opinions are just as important as the opinions of people who fund education. Just because I may not have children in the school district doesn’t mean the school start date doesn’t affect my life, not to mention, I am helping to pay for that education, I should have a say in how my money is being spent. I think the school district should post a link to the survey online so ALL participants in the school district (the students and the people who pay for their education) have a voice. Otherwise it is just a clever game the school district is playing to skew the results. It seems the school district wants our money (property and NOW retail taxes) they just don’t want our opinion.
It also seems they have a tight grip on this survey;
