The Garden City Telegram
Email this story | Add Your Comment
| Read (1) Comments
Board to Poll Patrons On Closed Noon Hour
Published 10/31/2009 in History Page : Historical Page
A closed noon hour for Garden City students? Yes? No?
That's the question you'll be faced with soon if you have a child attending school in Garden City grades through high school.
A postcard poll was approved last night by the Unified School Board 457 and will be conducted within the next month. The questionnaire will go to every school family, and the board is requesting each returned postcard be signed by a parent.
Patrons will complete three different questions: Do you want a closed noon hour in the grades? Do you want a closed noon hour in junior high; and Do you want a closed noon hour in the high school?
Action along this line was touched off when a junior high girl was struck by a car during the noon hour last week in the 100 block of West Kansas. She didn't suffer serious injuries.
Feeling concering a closed noon hour varies among board members.
"I'm not in favor of a closed noon hour," one member said. "Kids and parents have some responsibility."
Another replied: "That's a good thing, but it doesn't work."
"It's just one of those deals," one added, "when you punish the whole group because of the conduct of a few."
It was pointed out by one member that a mishap such as the one that occurred last week could have happened before or after school.
Crux of the problem at the junior high boils down to noon time when students are dismissed about the same time the traffic from the business area hits a peak.
Some students use the alley running east of Penrose Stadium for a cut through to Kansas Ave., and then across the highway where there are no crossing lanes.
Supt. Tom Saffell said students have been warned to stop the practice, but in some cases to no avail.
Saffell said he has considered changing the dismissal time at noon to a few minutes after 12 to help avoid the noon time traffic rush. But, he added, that would cause problems, too.
"I don't think we'll ever solve the problem until we get a closed noon hour," he said.
The board apparently will go along with the wishes of the school parents, and take the path the majority dictates in the postcard poll.
Found 1 comment(s)!
closed noon hour
It would be great to know on what date the story ran in the newspaper originaly.
Posted by: al chappel on 12/31/2009
Twitter Updates
