Eighteen Wake County parents, disgruntled about year-round schools, have filed affidavits criticizing the School Board. Here are examples of what they’re saying:

• “My son won’t be able to attend Roy Williams basketball camp.”
  
• “My two sons won’t be able to bond.”
  
• “We have to visit my mother in Pennsylvania; she has Alzheimer’s.”
  
• “Obesity is a national epidemic. My son’s health will suffer. He won’t be able to join the swim team.”
  
• “My children won’t be able to volunteer for a summer program to help poor people in Appalachia.”
  
• “My child will have to do homework while other children play.”
  
• “My children won’t be able to visit their relatives in Egypt over the summer.”

Pardon me, but does all this sound a bit spoiled?

In fact, the School Board set up a special program for parents who said they objected to sending their children to year round schools (News & Observer; 4-2-07). 99% of the parents who applied were accommodated. But that didn’t suit some parents because it meant another unbearable inconvenience – sending their children to schools further from home.

Here’s a suggestion. The only way to solve this problem is going to be for someone to spend money. A lot of money. And the burden of protecting summer vacations shouldn’t fall on taxpayers alone. Why not ask these parents to help pay the costs? Offer every family in Wake County one of the best educations in North Carolina free – but, then, if they also want to dictate when their children go to school let them pay a fee to offset the costs to taxpayers.

Of course, if some impoverished parent – sending their children to Roy Williams basketball camp or Egypt – can’t afford the fee the School Board could waive it.

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