Obama's Longer School Day Bill: Who's Going to Pay?

I always remember how I complained about how long the school year was when I was in middle school and high school. I guess to me, 180 days seemed like a lifetime. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed school most of the time and excelled at it. Of course, I didn't think about the fact that 180 days is less than half the days that are in an entire year. Now that I am older and have experienced the schooling of the 1990's up to 2005, I have an idea of what the condition of our country's school systems are. I must say that many improvements need to be made. President Obama's idea of a longer school year is something that I wouldn't mind seeing come to fruition. Still, there will definitely be some hurdles to overcome with this one.

America's Schools Need Help

I agree with the President that our country's children are lagging behind many others of foreign countries. For God sakes, I live in the state that has the highest high school dropout rate in the nation. We definitely need to find a way to keep kids in school and make them hit those books harder. As Obama believes, we need to make kids work longer and harder in order for them to be able to compete in the 21^st century. I do agree with this statement. I am all for hard work and dedication. Even so, I am not 100% sure a longer school year in itself will be the only solution to our education crisis.

Expenses are Already Too High

First of all, schools being open longer means more funds will be needed to run the schools and various programs. I'll tell everyone right now the state of Nevada has serious issues with there schools, especially the Clark County School District. Our schools need funding so bad that many of them are selling things to get funding for their programs. Even my sister's high school has resorted to suggesting that parents pay hundreds of dollars for a graduation package. When I graduated from the same high school a little more than 4 years ago, all I had to buy was my cap, gown, and tassel. There were no $200 to $400 graduation packages. My point behind this is who is going to fund the extra school time? I know for a fact that many school districts will not be able to do it.

More Pay For Teachers

The second idea is the discussion of teacher's pay. Obama says that he wants to give good teachers more pay and to stop rewarding bad teachers. I can definitely vouch for 'no rewards for the bad teachers' idea. I can name several good teachers' I have had, but I can also name some bad ones. Still, the question is where will this pay raise for teachers come from? The fact of the matter is that the teacher's unions will not want to pay it. Also, with many states going through serious budget shortfalls, their legislatures will not be able to pay it either. So I guess this idea will be government funded also?

Extra School Time Is Not Cheap

Third, who is going to pay for the schools to stay open longer? More time in school means that more materials will be needed. You figure a typical school day is between 6 and 6 ½ hours long. If you add 2 or 3 hours to that total, every day during the week, that would be an additional 10 to 15 hours a week. There is even talk about having time on weekends. If you add this extra time to all of the schools in the nation, this will be a lot more money that will be needed to keep the schools open this much longer. According to WSYR Channel 9 News in Syracuse, Massachusetts has an expanded learning time initiative. The state has to pay 12 to 15 percent more than regular per student spending (or an extra $1300 per student). There is no way that the state of Nevada would ever pay this. In the end, I think Obama would probably have to come out with another brand new stimulus package. Here we go again.

Besides funding issues, there would be an interruption in many people's personal lives if school days are made longer. First of all, parents would have less time to spend with their children. Second, there would not be as much flexibility with scheduling things like doctor's appointments, birthday parties, sports, etc. I am sure there would be ways to work around these issues, but I figured I would just put them out there.

I am sincere when I say that I want our country's children to be smarter and be able to compete with children of foreign nations. I want us to stay at the forefront of scientific and technological advancement and discovery. But exactly what price will we have to pay? While a longer school year may help somewhat, I have to say that parents are the key to unlocking there children's potential. Some parents need to be way more responsible.

If you have any comments or information you'd like to share on this issue, feel free to leave a comment.

Sources:

"President Obama in Favor of Longer School Year for Kids." Newport Television LLC.