School starts this week for some in region

School calendars across Northwest Georgia are showing the effects of tightening budgets, producing school start dates that range from this week to as late as next month.

Teacher furlough days are the main cause for most systems' calendar changes, as officials cull from five to as many as 20 days from students' traditional 180-day school year.

Georgia lawmakers last year passed measures to allow calendar adjustments as long as officials make sure students meet the required amount of annual instructional minutes. Most calendars differ from last year's by only a few days.

The leaders are Chickamauga, where school starts Wednesday, and Catoosa County, which starts Thursday.

Catoosa adopted a 175-day calendar that reflects five furlough days to keep county property tax millage rates in check, Superintendent Denia Reese said. The shorter calendar "will allow us to maintain programs and services for students without raising local taxes," Reese said.

Chickamauga's calendar was trimmed for six furlough days, spokeswoman Jenny Vowell said.

But nothing's set in stone for Chickamauga or others.

"These days may have to be adjusted depending on the economic situation in the state," Vowell said.

If budgets are cut further, more days may have to be trimmed or more furloughs instituted, she said.

Dalton City Schools and Whitfield County Schools start the second week of August, with calendars reflecting four furlough days for Dalton and five for Whitfield.

Calendars for Dade County and Walker County are shorter but not because of furlough days.

Dade officials chopped five days from the calendar. Central office administrators and principals got 10 furlough days but teachers avoided the ax, Superintendent Patty Priest said.

She said Dade County High School got a school improvement grant that saved teachers from seven expected furlough days.

Walker's calendar is 11 days shorter than last year's, but the trim was aimed at utilities savings rather than furlough days, spokeswoman Elaine Womack said. Employees will work fewer but longer days to balance the shorter calendar, Womack said.

Murray County Schools have the latest start date -- Sept. 7 -- after cutting 20 days from the school calendar last year, secondary curriculum director Cheryl Thomasson said.

Murray officials approved the same calendar this year, citing about $700,000 savings on utility costs, Thomasson said.

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