District looks at changes to school week
Chilliwack Progress
Jan 22 2010
By: Katie Bartel

Spring break could be extended for students attending Chilliwack public schools, as could school days.

The Chilliwack school district is proposing to make spring break two weeks instead of one, mostly for financial reasons.

The district would save on utility costs and transportation with the schools being shut down for an extra five days.

"We're trying to save money," said Superintendent Corinne McCabe. "That's five extra days that operations would be shut down and we wouldn't be running the buses."

At deadline, district officials could not confirm how much cost savings the extra week would produce….

However, working parents, single moms and parents with younger children could have issues relating to extra daycare costs.

Instructional time would not be lost with an extended spring break. School days would be lengthened by eight minutes at the elementary school level and nine minutes at the middle and secondary school level to make up for the lost time.

The Chilliwack Teachers' Association is concerned for teachers-on-call potentially losing out on five days of work, and also how the change would affect teacher pensions and pay.

"But if it means saving programs, then it could be a valid way of looking at the necessity of several cuts, and a way of alleviating those cuts," said CTA president Katherin Midzain.

Chilliwack school district will be seeking public input, and needs board approval to implement the change….