Schools
School Board Weighs Options for Summer Programs
Clayton Board of Education members debated several options for 2012 at its Wednesday meeting. Among the choices: Bringing back the popular camp program Summerquest for elementary students.
The future of summer programs offered by the was the subject of intense debate at a school board work session Wednesday.
The bulk of the Clayton Board of Education agenda was devoted to several issues relating to its future resource allocation, documents and audio recordings posted on the district's website show. The topic that generated the most discussion was the kind of summer programs the district will be able to provide—in particular, the popular camp program Summerquest for elementary students.
“The bottom line is, what summer programs do we want to provide for our youth and at what cost?” Interim Superintendent Sharmon Wilkinson said, according to audio from the district.
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Summerquest went on hiatus last year because of construction issues that limited the space available for summer programs. In its place, students had the opportunity to participate in a program featuring academic support and recreational opportunities.
District staff presented the school board with three possible configurations for elementary programs, but it left board members with more questions than answers. The discussion centered around how much the programs would cost, where students would be housed and whether Summerquest would be brought back.
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“We are going to have to reflect on balancing what is the mission we want to accomplish and what we want a summer program to look like in a fiscally responsible manner,” board director Omri Praiss said. “Can you do everything or not?”
Because Summerquest is not a strictly academic program, it receives no funding support from the state of Missouri and is fee-based. In addition to the popular camp, the district could also offer academic support classes for struggling students, which would receive state support, or it could try some combination of the two.
Weighing the various options proved challenging.
“It feels like we are being asked to choose between two different visions,” Board President Sonny Buttar said.
The board made no formal decisions during the work session. Summer programming will again be discussed at the board’s Nov. 30 meeting. More information about the proposals for the district's elementary, middle and high school students is available on the district's website.