Letter to the Editor: District 15 Schedule Changes

I would like to take a moment to keep you up to date as to the activity in District 15 in regard to the proposed "Wednesday Late Start Program".  

A number of local parents have commenced a call and letter writing campaign on this topic.  Many parents are quite upset about this and feel that Scott Thompson has not represented the parents and children in this issue but has simply chosen the easy route in doing whatever the teachers' union wanted with no input from stakeholders or communication as to the motivation behind the decision.  

Following repeated requests for an opportunity to voice our concerns, Mr. Thompson has agreed to host an open discussion on this topic on Saturday the 26th of January from 9 - 11 AM in the Board Room at Sundling.  The volume of people in attendance will certainly determine whether the voice of the parents and children in our school district are taken into consideration. Mr. Thompson has also preliminarily indicated a willingness to conduct a survey prior to that date to hear opinions on the matter.   

The parents with whom I have been communicating understand that an agreement has already been made to grant this concession. We are asking that the proposed late start be modified due to community opposition. The community proposes that the time be granted as an early dismissal of students on Friday afternoon as this will have a lesser and more controllable impact on working parents in District 15, will upset the weekly schedule of the children to a lesser degree and is more amenable to at home parents.   

A letter was sent to Superintendent Scott Thompson, Deputy Superintendent James Garwood, North Suburban Council PTA President Julie O'Hara and all members of the District 15 School Board.  Contact information for CTC Teachers Union Preseident Lisa Nuss and Executive Director Anne Bridges has been unavailable. We understand we cannot stop this from happening but we can certainly join together to leverage that the agreed upon day be changed from Wednesday to Friday and the late start be an early dismissal. 

Lisa Beth Szczupaj 
Palatine Taxpayer & Mother of Two 

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Editor's note: Letters to the Editor are presented as they are originally submitted by our readers. Palatine Patch neither agrees nor disagrees with the opinions presented.