Marion Students and Parents Want to End School Year Early

It's been a tough year for the Marion Independent School District. The pandemic of last year. The derecho which damaged buildings and property. And lets just not get into the mascot name change fiasco. So you can see why students and parents wish this school year would just get over already! Well, CBS2 reports that a new petition has been started to end the school year in Marion a week early.

A Marion High School student started the petition that requests that the school year end during the first week of June. Currently, classes are scheduled to end on June 11th. CBS2 reports that the school district extended the school year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the derecho of last August. The current school year started two weeks later in September, instead of the normal August start date.

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Iowa state law requires that students be in class for 1,080 hours or 180 days. The Marion school district achieves those hours within 176 days. CBS2 reports that the Iowa Department of Education allowed several school districts impacted by the derecho to excuse up to 10 student days, by applying for a waiver. Marion applied for and received the waiver but never used it.

Marion superintendent Janelle Brouwer told CBS2 that the waiver only applies to student days, not the 190 days required for staff. The district wanted to maximize student/teacher interaction, and kept the 176 days in class for students. Other school joining Marion in the later school dismissal date are Iowa City and Linn Mar schools. Waterloo, College Community, and Cedar Rapids schools will all end the first week of June.

The Marion School board will meet again on May 24th, and some hope they'll discuss the school year end date. Superintendent Brouwer told CBS2 that the decision is final.