Of the four options for scheduling the length of the day at each of the schools within the district, Option III received the most vocal support from attendees at work sessions, was recommended by Superintendent Dr. Wilson, and seemed to have the most support collectively from School Board Trustees. Option III called for the high school day to begin at 7:45 a.m. and end at 2:40 p.m. (for a total day of 6 hours and 55 min.), the middle school day to begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:25 p.m. (for a total day of 6 hours and 55 minutes), the elementary schools to begin at 8:10 and end at 2:45 (for a total day of 6 hours and 35 minutes) and the primary schools to begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:05 p.m. (for a total day of 6 hours and 35 minutes). During the April 28 Board of Education meeting, Garden City Middle School math teacher and parent of a sixth-grader at the middle school, Tom Schenkel, rose and read an open letter to the Board of Education and the administration urging them to reconsider the length of the day at the middle school before they voted on the schedule.

His contention was that the 6 hours and 55 minutes proposed for the middle school was excessive and suggested that they push the end of the day back by 10 minutes, allowing the students to leave at 3:15 instead. He recommended that the board "keep the middle school in the middle." He argued that the district should allow the students to make the transition between the 6 hours and 35 minutes of the elementary schools to the 6 hours and 55 minutes of the high school during the course of their three years at the middle school, rather than expect sixth-graders and seniors in high school to work on the same schedule.

Schenkel also noted that coordinating athletic matches with other schools would become difficult if Garden City students were released later than other area middle schools. He asked that if busing was the reason the day was proposed at the length it was, to please ensure the buses drove "kids not education." He concluded, "Don't push kids beyond what can be reasonably expected" of them and argued that the extra 10 minutes was too much.

PTA President Maureen Cornacchia stated that the PTA was in favor of Option III, which was on the agenda for a vote, but that if Mr. Schenkel's points were in fact correct, then they would be in favor of reducing the proposed time by the 10 minutes recommended by Schenkel. A member of the Garden City Teacher's Association later stated that she was speaking on behalf of the GCTA and that they were in favor of 6 hours and 45 minutes rather than the proposed 6 hours and 55 minutes. Superintendent Wilson and Acting Board President Rudy both clarified for the audience the fact that whether or not the day for the students ended at 3:25 p.m. or 3:15 p.m., the teachers' day would be the same, as the time had already been negotiated and written into their contracts. Dr. Wilson also pointed out that transportation concerns were not an issue in this scheduling proposal and there would be no busing problems in either case.

Dr. Wilson explained that the intent was to provide more instructional time for the students, who currently use a zero period on their "own time" not only for athletics and extra curricular activities, but for lab work and other such academic endeavors which are relegated to this time because of the lack of time within the official school day. The objective was to expand each period during the day to help enable the teachers to complete lessons and achieve a higher level of productivity with the students. Dr. Wilson also noted that other middle schools on Long Island have a longer day than what was proposed and noted that these are schools with which Garden City competes scholastically. Herricks Middle School was one school specifically cited.

Despite Wilson's recommendation for the 6 hours and 55 minutes, the Board of Education voted unanimously to make the day 6 hours and 45 minutes.

In response to the curiosity peaked by the comparison of the Garden City Middle School's Day to those of other middle schools on Long Island, Garden City Life has compiled a short list of some other districts for our readers' perusal.

Longer Than GCMS Day After Vote:

*Herricks MS: 7:45 a.m. to 2:51 p.m. = 7:06

*Manhasset MS: 8:13 a.m. to 3:08 p.m. = 6:55

*Berner MS (Massapequa): 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. = 7

Same as GCMS Day After Vote:

*Finley MS (Glen Cove): 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. = 6:45

Shorter Than GCMS Day After Vote:

*Roslyn MS: 7:50 a.m. to 2:31 p.m. = 6:41

*Great Neck MS: 8:20 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. = 6:30

*Mineola MS: 8 a.m. to 2:31 p.m. = 6:31

*Jericho MS: 7:31 a.m. to 2:03 p.m. = 6:32

*Island Trees MS: 8:25 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. = 6:15

*Jonas Salk MS (Levittown): 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. = 6:40

*Wisdom Lane MS (Levittown): 7:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. = 6:40

*Hicksville MS: 7:41 a.m. to 2:11 p.m. = 6:30

*Packard MS (Plainedge): 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. = 6:30

The sixth-graders in the Farmingdale School District are still part of the elementary school and the seventh-and eighth-graders are in their own school. The elementary schools, Albany Avenue, East Memorial, Woodward Parkway, and Northside, all run for 6 hours. The seventh-and eighth-graders in Howitt School have a day of 6 hours and 37 minutes. In the New Hyde Park School District, the seventh-and eighth-graders attend school at Memorial High School with the ninth through twelfth-graders.

School Board Vice President Christine Turner of the Herricks School district told Garden City Life that often the bus companies do play a role in determining the starting and ending times of the school days for all the schools in the district as coordinating pick-ups and drop-offs between multiple buildings in a district becomes complicated, but in Herricks, as in Garden City, the real reason that longer school days are sought is to achieve a higher level of productivity during the school day. Herricks, with the longest day recorded at 7 hours and 6 minutes, found that lengthening the periods enabled them to have more time to become involved in the material taught in the classrooms, complete lab work, etc. Garden City will certainly revisit this issue annually and the opinions of parents, teachers, adminstrators, and the board will all be taken into consideration.