Miami School Board OK’s Aug. 14 Start

By Matthew I. Pinzur, The Miami Herald

Feb. 16–Summer vacation will be a little bit longer in Miami-Dade County this year after the School Board’s decision Wednesday to start the school year on Aug. 14 — a week later than the current year.

The 39 schools in the School Improvement Zone have a longer academic year and will open Aug. 7. Most schools will end May 30, 2007, with the Zone schools dismissing June 1.

The decision reverses a years-long trend toward an earlier school year, which was largely driven by a desire to have more school days before state and national standardized tests in the spring.

That shifting calendar drew ire from parents, who saw it cutting into traditional time for summer vacations and camps. They were also upset that students were in classrooms and athletic programs during the peak of August heat.

TRENDING LATER

Other districts are now making similar adjustments, and a bill before the Legislature could force schools to open no earlier than the week before Labor Day. The Broward School Board approved an Aug. 9 start date for the 2006-07 year, but one board member with a critical swing vote said she has changed her mind and will try to delay the opening until Aug. 14.

The Broward School Board will meet Tuesday to reconsider the calendar, Superintendent Frank Till said.

Unlike the controversy in Broward, the calendar was approved unanimously in Miami-Dade, and not a single parent spoke at the meeting.

In other business Wednesday:

– Superintendent Rudy Crew took responsibility for ongoing problems at Central Senior High, where parents have complained that promised reforms have come slowly — if at all.

"Indeed there has been a stitch that was slipped and I accept full responsibility for this," Crew said. "There have been some areas where I did not manage this effectively."

He promised renewed commitment to the school, and his deputies outlined a 27-point plan to address concerns raised by community leaders. Crew plans to meet Feb. 23 with parent and alumni leaders, who again expressed their frustration but also promised to keep working with the district.

"You wanted the community to get involved," said Sam Gilmore, chairman of the school’s oversight committee. "Here we are — we’re going to be around for a long period of time."

– The board unanimously approved Crew’s summer-school proposal, which will serve up to 60,000 students and cost up to $30 million. The plan includes both remedial and enrichment programs, as well as summer camps, programs at local colleges and online courses.

TEACHERS CONTRACT

– The district announced plans to negotiate a three-year contract with the United Teachers of Dade union, rather than the single-year contracts that have historically been used. A long-term deal would help the district project its salary expenses further in advance and prepare teachers for how much salary they can expect to earn through 2009.

There are sticking points — including merit pay and changing the seniority-based pay scale — but Deputy Superintendent Ofelia San Pedro set a goal of completing the contract this spring.

– The board approved a cost-cutting plan for the Department of Food and Nutrition, which administrators said would address a projected deficit of more than $11 million. Cafeterias will order less costly food, freeze hiring, reassign some staff, encourage more students to sign up for governmentsubsidized lunches and — if all else fails — raise meal prices.

– The board directed Crew to publicly share his concerns about the State Board of Education’s proposed system of merit pay, which would connect teachers’ bonuses to their students’ standardized-test scores. Crew has advocated for some form of performance-based pay, but balked at making test scores the only criteria. He also had concerns about paying for the plan’s management and how it would affect the district’s power to negotiate labor contracts.

Miami Herald staff writer Hannah Sampson contributed to this report.

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