Benefits don’t outweigh the costs

Although I do support the general idea of the extended school day proposal for State College Area elementary students, I do not believe it is a beneficial solution at this time. The cost of the extended day is exorbitant. The benefit to the elementary students is only minimal under the current plan, and highly detrimental to the high school day. And so far, the source of the additional million dollars a year is unidentified.

The proposal is especially detrimental for our high school students who participate in athletics and other after-school activities. The added classroom time for the elementary students is minimal and the downfalls for many of the high school students are high. As a parent of high school students who participate in multiple athletic activities, the proposal only pushes their arrival home later and has the potential to cause them to miss even more school for sporting events. Although there has been some contact with other districts about changing athletic meeting times, it is fantasy to portray that this will be anything but years in advance before it is accepted and acted upon.

Furthermore, it is wishful thinking that high school students will be better rested by starting their day later. Instead, their after-school day activities will simply be pushed later, forcing them to stay up later in the evening, while simultaneously further disrupting family activities.

This story was originally published October 7, 2017 at 10:14 PM with the headline "Benefits don’t outweigh the costs."