Shorter school year helps budget, not students

Wichita schoolteachers made a pragmatic decision this week in voting to extend the school day by 30 minutes for 2016-17 so the district can reduce the number of days (and thus save money). Reducing school days is preferable to some of the other budget-cutting options the district is considering. But teachers also recognized that a shortened school year is not in the best interest of students. As United Teachers of Wichita president Steve Wentz noted: “Three weeks less of student contact is not what the students in (USD) 259 need.” – Phillip Brownlee