Manteca Unified to re-examine year-round By Abbie Dutcher Record Staff Writer Published Sunday, September 28, 2003 MANTECA -- Manteca Unified School District trustees will meet in a special session Tuesday to discuss how year-round education is working in the district. Trustees will look at scheduling options for schools already operating year-round and new schools due to come on line, including Woodward and Veritas elementary schools south of the Highway 120 bypass in Manteca. Board members will decide if Woodward School should operate on a multitrack, year-round schedule when it opens in 2004-05. They also will consider whether to keep at least 30 percent of the district's schools on the year-round system. Presently, eight of the district's 17 elementary schools are operating on year-round schedules. The system was introduced three years ago to deal with the district's burgeoning enrollment, which last week surpassed 22,648 students. Of the 15,823 students in elementary schools this year, 8,668 are attending on year-round schedules, said John Fultz, Manteca Unified's director of enrollment and year-round education. In recent years, new elementary schools have opened on the multitrack, year-round system, Fultz said. By operating on a 12-month calendar, a school can increase its capacity by 18 percent to 50 percent, because one "track" or group of students is out of school and off campus at any given time. "I think we need to keep consistent on that," Fultz said. But as more new schools open, year-round education may no longer be necessary at some schools to alleviate overcrowding, said Karen Pearsall, a parent of a student attending Joshua Cowell Elementary School in Manteca. "I'm not totally against year-round education for everyone. But it has to make economic sense," she said. At the Lodi Unified School District, officials are moving away from year-round education and back to a modified traditional year as quickly as funding and classroom space allows, said Robert Gire, coordinator of child welfare and attendance. New schools are set up to operate on the modified traditional schedule, Gire said. The only reason a campus might remain on year-round now is that the enrollment numbers won't allow the switch back, he said. Joshua Cowell Elementary has just over 1,000 students, roughly 400 of which are bused in from residential neighborhoods south of the Highway 120 bypass, Pearsall said. When Woodward School finally opens, most of those youngsters will go there, she said. "That's 40 percent of our student population," she said. "If we get down to 600 or 700 kids, we can fit that on a traditional schedule." Homes are still being built near Cowell School, but not at the pace seen south of the bypass or projected for Lathrop in the coming years, she said. A long-range facilities planning study predicts Manteca Unified's enrollment will jump 43 percent over the next six years, from 22,816 this year to 32,683 students by 2008-09. Much of that will be fueled by new housing west of Interstate 5 in the Lathrop area and south of the bypass. Seven new schools and four campus annexes, including two high schools, will be needed in the next five years to house students, according to the report, which board members reviewed earlier this month. A new elementary school can cost more than $10 million to build, while a high school can cost in excess of $50 million. Manteca Unified's chances of landing state funds for new construction are improved if the district maintains year-round education, which keeps schools operating at higher capacity, the report said. If trustees decide to halt year-round education, the district will need to build three additional elementary schools to handle the overflow. Those campuses would have to open in 2005, 2006 and 2007, the report said. But the district also will need money to hire staff and operate the new campuses. In lean budget times, finding the cash to do that may be a challenge, officials said. Pearsall said the board needs to look at the costs and determine if operating some schools 12 months out of the year is really saving the district money over the long run. The trustees will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Joshua Cowell School, 740 Pestana Ave., Manteca. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * To reach reporter Abbie Dutcher, phone (209) 239-3361 or e-mail adutcher@recordnet.com |
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