Year-round school? Not in Martin County, as School Board says no state pilot program
MARTIN COUNTY — Scrambling to implement a year-round school pilot program within eight months — without any extra state money or strong community support — seemed unappealing to School Board members.
A 2023 state law created a pilot program for five Florida school districts to participate in a year-round school program for four school years, beginning in August. Martin County schools applied for the program Dec. 1, pending approval by the School Board.
But board members suggested Tuesday the district withdraw its application to be part of a state pilot program for year-round schooling.
No state money involved
No state money comes with being one of the five pilot districts, said Deputy Superintendent Tracey Miller, so Martin County schools would have to find the money to pay for it. The district also would have to revise the next year's school calendar, which was posted last month, she said.
"If there's no money attached to being a pilot program from the Department of Education, there's no sense of urgency (to participate)," said board member Christia Li Roberts. "There's no reason to be one of the five pilot schools. Because what's the point of being one of the five pilot schools?"
The short window to put the program together and notify parents of the change also was a concern, board members said.
"The time frame to implement this for this coming school year is just too short," said board member Marsha Powers. "Had we started on July 1, when we knew this was coming, it would be a different story."
The district had applied for four schools to be part of the pilot: Warfield, Pinewood and Port Salerno elementaries and Indiantown Middle. Staff also considered implementing the program districtwide.
Implementing a year-round school program is already something the board can do, because the it sets the district calendar and schedule, Roberts said.
Under a year-round school program, students attend school for 180 days, the same number as other children in the state. However, the schedule would be structured differently, with breaks built in throughout the year.
School Board wants parent input
The district received almost 600 responses from the community about year-round school, with many expressing concern over scheduling, childcare, after-school programs, transportation and loss of income for staff who use the summer to take second jobs.
Board members said they wanted to hear from more parents and staff to get a clearer idea of whether there is support for year-round schooling.
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The move would be "devastating" to families with working parents, parent Jason Connor told the School Board Tuesday. There would be no opportunities for after-school activities if the program involved only a few schools, and childcare options would be limited, he said.
"It would be a complete hardship," Connor said.
Colleen Wixon is the education reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers. Contact her at colleen.wixon@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Martin County School Board says no to pilot program for year-round school
