School board debates early release

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — Apparently, very few people like the idea of public schools in McKinley County allowing students early release on Mondays next year.

That’s on next year’s calendar for the Gallup-McKinley County Public School district, but complaints by parents at Monday’s school board meeting have caused school officials to reconsider the idea.

Parents told the school board that it was a bad idea because it would cause parents who have to work to scramble to find baby-sitters to watch over their children until they are able to get home.

Donna Powell, who spoke for parents at Monday’s school board meeting, said it would also shortchange students who would lose a half day of learning a week. It would also cause schools to push back their lunch periods.

“Kindergarten students would have lunch at 10:30 a.m.,” she said. “That’s crazy.”

Teachers who have children going to school would also have to find baby-sitters.

Esther Macias, who turned over the reins of superintendent to Ray Arsenault Monday, said the early release Mondays were set by the calendar committee to allow the school district time for staff and teacher development, which is required by state and federal law.

Having students leave early on Fridays wouldn’t work because teachers who coach wouldn’t be able to make it to the sessions because they would be having games.

Wednesday is the best attendance day in the district, so the calendar committee didn’t want to do anything that would affect that, so Mondays, with the least attendance, was chosen to be the early release day.

But School Board President Genevieve Jackson said she didn’t like the idea of using Mondays because it would cause even more students to stay home because they would look at the shortened day and say, “Why go to school at all?”

She said she was also upset when parents complained that the district didn’t consult parents before deciding on early release Mondays.

Arsenault agreed, saying he felt it was important that the district have the input of parents. “I would like to look at it more,” he said.

Since this was listed on the agenda as a discussion item, the school board couldn’t do away with early release Mondays, but they agreed to have a survey done to see how parents and teachers felt about the idea and whether there was support for any other idea that would lessen the affect on students.

In other business, the school board agreed to increase the cost of meals at public schools by 25 cents each next year to pay for increased cost of food brought on by rising gasoline prices.

Darlene Yocham, director of student nutrition at the school district, said the increase would only affect the 25 percent of the student population that is not on the free or reduced lunch program.

Breakfast right now costs 75 cents for students and $1.75 for adults. Lunch in elementary schools costs $1.40 and in high school $1.50 for students and $3.00 for adults.

She pointed out that adults couldn’t get a balanced meal anywhere in town for $3.25.

Annie Descheny, who opposed the increase, said too many students and adults were having a hard time paying current fees, and increasing it would only mean more students would skip lunches and wait until they got home to eat.

But Yocham argued that the district would have to find some way to pay for the deficits, pointing out that the district received $2.47 from the federal government to pay for each lunch in the free or reduced lunch program and the meals cost an average of $2.98.

“We are losing money on each meal we serve,” she said.
It also appears, from the discussion that occurred Monday, that most board members feel the time has come to stop having two school board meetings a month and just hold one.

The idea was brought up by Jackson, who said that rising gasoline prices and bad weather conditions made it difficult for her and Descheny to attend meetings since they lived the furthest away in the counties.

Bruce Tempest, who favored staying at two meetings a month, pointed out that the district could increase per diem to make up for the extra cost of gasoline. It was also pointed out that if Jackson and Descheny couldn’t make it to a meeting, they could listen in over a telephone hookup.

Johnny R. Thompson, another board member, said he sometimes felt two meetings a month wasn’t worth it when the board only had two or three actions items to discuss.

No actual vote was taken Monday, but there appears to be enough support for approval. A vote is expected to be taken at the next board meeting.