SF Schools propose start date "compromise"

Sioux Falls, SD (KELO AM) - Just a couple of months before the issue goes to Sioux Falls voters, the SF School District is trying to meet in the middle on a later start date for the school year. On Thursday the board proposed a start date of the 4^th Monday in August, while a parent’s group is calling for the school year to start after Labor Day.

Wendy McDonnel lead the citizen’s group that petitioned to get the issue on the ballot, she says if this proposal would have been on the table last fall she would have listened. “It would have strongly been looked at” she told KELO Radio.

Parents have cited several reasons for wanting to push back the start date, from planning Labor Day vacations to avoiding hot days in schools with little or no air conditioning. Schools say getting kids in the classroom earlier can help improve standardized test scores by maximizing classroom time ahead of such exams.

As it stands, the issue will be decided during April’s school board election.