It's the protocol that's the problem, not the parents and teachers hankering to change Bordewich-Bray Elementary School's schedule to year-round.
Tuesday night, Carson City School Board members declared they were confused, too.
Faced first with determining whether voting occurred correctly then which parents should be allowed to vote, the board unanimously tabled the matter until the district provides more information.
"The action the board took yesterday was really a prudent action to give everyone the time to think about it and really look at what the protocol says," said Board President James Hukari. "We didn't have answers; that's why we tabled it. I think there's a need to re-examine the whole protocol."
The recent vote indicated at least 25 percent of teachers and parents support a year-round schedule - enough to trigger more study and a second vote. But it's not yet clear if that vote counts.
Part of the problem is that the district's guidelines for changing a school's schedule fail to define which parents can vote: Should parents of young children who will be attending the school when the change occurs be allowed to vote? Should parents whose children will be out of school by then be denied the vote?
"The reason why the protocol was created in the first place was as a result of the school district rezoning all of the elementary schools in 1998-1999," said Mike Mitchell, director of operations for the school district.
"It was thought at the time to allow the parents the opportunity to change the schedule to what it was at the schools their children came from."
Votes were taken at all the elementary schools that year. Parents voted to keep the schedules as they were, even at Fremont Elementary School, the only school in the district using a nontraditional schedule.
"That's why it was done," Mitchell said. "And nobody had been interested in changing the calendars of schools until recently."
Even with the delay in clarification for parents and teachers who want to move forward, there is still time for action before the cutoff month of November.
"We did recognize that we would need to clarify this protocol probably no later than August or September so that the parents could get together to effect a vote before Thanksgiving," Hukari said. "Even if it happens in September of October, there's still plenty of time for the parents to get together and vote."
If the issue goes to a second vote, it would take a 66 percent majority to change to a year-round schedule.
n Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at moneill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.
Calendar Selection Protocol
• Starting in 1999-2000, schools could have a staff/parent vote (by the end of the first semester) for traditional versus single-track, year-round school. This vote should be requested by petitions indicating 25 percent of staff and parents support the request. The petition should occur by Thanksgiving.
• Parent votes of 66 percent (one vote per child) and staff votes of 66 percent (benefited staff can vote) are required to convert from traditional to year-round or vice versa.
• Once a calendar is voted upon, a three-year cycle is begun. There is a commitment to that calendar for three years.
