New MLHS schedule set for approval Jan. 23

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake School Board members will be asked to approve a new schedule for Moses Lake High School at the Jan. 23 board meeting.

The schedule change is prompted by increasing enrollment at the high school, and that trend is expected to continue, district superintendent Michelle Price said. As of October, there were 462 seniors, but the eighth grade (who will be freshmen next year) had 622 students. (Price cited numbers from a report every school district must send to the state each month.)

The seventh grade had 608 students and the sixth grade 618, according to the report. Currently the juniors and seniors are the only classes with less than 500 students.

The current high school population is about 2,383 students, according to information from high school principal Josh Meek. The high school was built to hold about 1,800, according to school officials.

"One hundred percent of the kids can't be in class at one time, It's a square footage to number of students math problem," Price said. The only way district officials have found to solve the problem is to increase the hours the building is in use, she said.

Currently there are seven portable buildings, each with two classrooms, around the high school, Price said. There's a spot for one more behind the high school, but that would require reconfiguring the adjoining parking lot, and possibly the track, she said.

The proposal under discussion was presented to the board in early December, and board members asked Meek questions in a study session Tuesday. The board will receive a final proposal Jan. 23; Price said a decision is necessary because registration for 2014-15 will begin in February.

The current proposal ends the four-period day and replaces it with a seven-period day. Price said a four-period schedule won't work when adding classes before and after the current school day.

Students would have their choice of seven classes during the day. They could have up to 11 time slots to choose from, depending on the schedule selected by the school board.

The committee working on the new schedule considered six options, starting with a school day of 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., which is close to the current schedule. The other options extend the day, with a sliding schedule of start times. In the other five options, the school day starts at 7 a.m. and ends anywhere from 3 to 6 p.m.

Two options completely solve the problem, Price said, with a school day starting at 7 a.m. and one ending at 5 p.m., the other at 6 p.m.

With those two options, about 20 percent of the students are not in school in any period, she said. There are already kids going to tutoring sessions or extra instruction before and after the school day, she said. The after school program has about 20 percent of the student body in attendance, she said, while the morning program is smaller.