Readers give their views on this column backing House Bill 1097 by Rep. Matt Dollar (R-Marietta) to prohibit school from starting before the third full week of August.

Mr. McKee:

The problem with your analysis of the school calendar debate is the focus on only one end of the calendar. Yes, Michigan schools start later. But they also end later, around Father’s Day.

Now in Michigan that makes sense. June is cold by our standards and August is warm. Of course you would want to take a vacation in Michigan in August and not June. Who wants to be in a cold, snow-melt fed lake when the temperature is less than 70?

But here, June is the preferred month for local activities. I would much rather be playing on the beach at Lake Acworth or hanging out at Six Flags in June than in August! Also, trips to Florida and other places are so much better the first weeks of June when all those Yankees are still in school. So the issue for me is not when school starts. Rather I’m concerned about when school ends. Let’s keep the Memorial Day weekend as the first of summer break!

In an effort for full disclosure, I am a Cobb County school teacher and I did not vote for the calendar that was adopted. I voted for the one with the week in February off but not the September week. More importantly, I am a grandparent of Cobb County school students who cares for them during the week all summer long. We like June.

Veronica Cook

Mr. McKee:

This is a local issue, not a state issue. If Cobb County voters decide this is best for the children in Cobb County, then we should vote to keep those on the school board who supported the early school start. If we decide the early school start is not good for the children, then we should vote them out.

How good or bad early start is for business is not the issue. The idea that you should think the effect on business is a factor is disgraceful and disgusting. I would not sell the effectiveness of my child’s education for the good of your and anyone else’s business.

ATF

Don:

I could not agree with you more. No one talks about this and it’s sad that most of the people now decrying this loss of knowledge over the summer were raised in that very system. They’re not dumb, have good jobs, and are now successfully raising families. Yet, somehow they view the system that got them where they are now as being broken and in need of change so our kids learn more. If we spent half as much time talking about curriculum as we did calendars, we’d all be better off.

Thanks for getting the big picture on this! It wasn’t broken before so let’s stop trying to fix it! Memorial Day - Labor Day. Great bookends on a school year.

matlib

dmckee9613@aol.com