Poll: Readers Split over School Start

By Lynn Rebuck • 9 years ago • News, Education

LititzDailyNews.com Poll Shows Majority of Women Identified in Survey Favor Earlier Start

Results of an LititzDailyNews.com poll indicate that readers are evenly split over whether the Warwick School District and teachers should start school before Labor Day, as the district desires, or after Labor Day, as the current labor agreement with teachers requires.

Over 115 people took part in the poll that appeared on our website and on our LititzDaily.com Facebook page. Results indicate that 52% of those who took part in the poll are in favor of beginning classes prior to Labor Day, while 48% are opposed.

The poll initially required individuals to post through a social media account in order to participate, but that was modified to allow all individuals the opportunity to vote anonymously.

Fifty-one percent of those who chose to identify themselves through use of their social media account were female. Of the females who voted, 60% were in favor of the earlier school start.

Of those who voted anonymously, more were against the early start by a very slight margin. The public voters, representing about 60% of those who participated in the poll, were in favor of a pre-Labor Day start by a margin of 55% to 45%.

As LititzDailyNews.com first reported in an article published last Thursday, efforts by the district and teachers unions to reach an agreement for an earlier start date fell through, with each side citing different reasons for the impasse. The teachers union president, Lisa Hochreiter, indicated in a statement Friday that the union wanted to address non-financial issues along with the start date, but the district refused.

District officials maintain that the all of the Warwick teachers were not provided the opportunity to vote on the proposition of starting school earlier for one year. For over three decades the district has always started school after Labor Day. It is now the only remaining district in the county held to such a requirement.

The Warwick School Board is scheduled to vote on the 2015-2016 district calendar on January 20 at their regular board meeting held in the district office adjacent to Warwick High School. The meeting is open to the public, and members of the community may comment during the meeting. For more information, please contact the Warwick School District office at (717)-626-3734.

To participate in future LititzDailyNews.com polls and receive our timely coverage of Warwick School District issues and events, please Like our Facebook page here and watch for our stories and polls in your newsfeed.