AUBURN - Auburn school board members have put the subject of changes in school start times to bed.
Auburn Enlarged City School District Superintendent John Plume said at the school board meeting Tuesday night that the matter is now off the table.
“As a board we are not talking about this anymore,” he said.
While his statement came in passing, during the course of a broader report to the board, the remark resolved a highly charged issue that has played out between the school board and the community over the last year.
Research from the National Sleep Foundation that pointed to biological tendencies for teens to stay up late, making it harder for them to get up in the morning. Conversely, younger children performed better during early morning hours.
In March 2005, the school board began considering that research, initiating discussion on the possible effects of changing school start times to meet students' sleep needs. But the public has been less than enthusiastic about the idea, voicing strong concerns to school board members themselves. The board responded to those concerns Tuesday night.
“It's off the table,” said school board president Mike Stearns.
In other news:
- Plume likened the district's efforts to address high school drop-out rates to steering a battleship.
“It takes a long time to turn it around,” he said.
A state report issued two weeks ago showed fewer Auburn students dropped out of high school in 2005 than in 2004. Plume said he wants his school district to remain open to students who may need extra time to complete high school.
“If it takes four-and-a-half or five years for a student to graduate, I want to be in a position to do that,” he said.
- The school board approved the BOCES bond resolution, authorizing more than $13 million to pay the district's share of capital improvements to the existing BOCES facilities.
Staff writer Olivia Goldberg can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 235 or at olivia.goldberg@lee.net
“As a board we are not talking about this anymore,” he said.
While his statement came in passing, during the course of a broader report to the board, the remark resolved a highly charged issue that has played out between the school board and the community over the last year.
Research from the National Sleep Foundation that pointed to biological tendencies for teens to stay up late, making it harder for them to get up in the morning. Conversely, younger children performed better during early morning hours.
In March 2005, the school board began considering that research, initiating discussion on the possible effects of changing school start times to meet students' sleep needs. But the public has been less than enthusiastic about the idea, voicing strong concerns to school board members themselves. The board responded to those concerns Tuesday night.
“It's off the table,” said school board president Mike Stearns.
In other news:
- Plume likened the district's efforts to address high school drop-out rates to steering a battleship.
“It takes a long time to turn it around,” he said.
A state report issued two weeks ago showed fewer Auburn students dropped out of high school in 2005 than in 2004. Plume said he wants his school district to remain open to students who may need extra time to complete high school.
“If it takes four-and-a-half or five years for a student to graduate, I want to be in a position to do that,” he said.
- The school board approved the BOCES bond resolution, authorizing more than $13 million to pay the district's share of capital improvements to the existing BOCES facilities.
Staff writer Olivia Goldberg can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 235 or at olivia.goldberg@lee.net