Charlotte Co. may make school days longer for elementary students

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.- Charlotte County is considering creating longer school days for elementary students. The county is talking about adding thirty more minutes to every school day.
“Our elementary kids go to school one half hour less than our middle and high school students,” said Doug Whittaker, superintendent of the Charlotte County School District.

“When you add it all up it results in about 15 additional full days of instruction for our kids,” added school board member Ian Vincent. “You don’t have to be in education to understand that if they’re in school 15 days longer they’re going to learn more and they’re going to do better.”

Lengthening the school day by 30 minutes would cost the district around $500,000. When Governor Rick Scott ran for re-election he promised more money for education. The superintendent says if he reigns on that deal, the deal is dead.

Some teachers want to know more about the proposal.

“The Florida Collective Bargaining laws and our contract demand that this is a bargained issue,” explained Bryan Bouton, the President of the Charlotte FEA. “Any change in the instructional day is bargained.” Bouton says he’s not against it, but just needs to know more about it.

Kaitlin Kelly has a daughter in third grade. “Many of her teachers have told me that there’s just not enough time in the middle of the day to transition from English to Math and then Math to Science so at a minimum a half an hour would be greatly beneficial.”

The proposed school time extension only applies to elementary schools in Charlotte County. Those kids are in school a half hour less than kids in Lee County and an hour less than kids in Sarasota County.