SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KTIV) -
If a new bill finds its way to the Governor's desk for approval, it could mean more hours and schedule changes for students across the state.
And while that may sound like a big change, counting hours rather than days may not feel different for Siouxland students.
"Quite honestly if they make this legislative change today, I don't think anything will look different than it does right now," Dr. Paul Gausman said.
Superintendent Dr. Paul Gausman said parents and students wouldn't have to much to worry about if the bill, which proposes changing the state minimum of 180 days to 1,080 hours, passes.
"We greatly exceed that which is written into this new bill, I think it's a 1,080 hours in the new bill, we exceed that number over 1,300 hours," Gausman said.
That may be true for many Siouxland schools. But Dr. Gausman said the bill could have a bigger impact, in years where there are a high number of school closings due to weather.
"If we have a great many late starts or early releases, but it would have to take far more than any we experienced in the last 5 years in order to have that kind of impact on our district," Gausman said.
Potential school schedule changes would also affect teachers. However, Bruce Lear, with the Sioux City Teacher's Union calls the bill "neutral."
"I don't think it means very much at all. Frankly, I think the legislature is kind of moving around the deck chairs, when it should be focusing on school funding," Lear said.
The Iowa Senate is expected to vote on the bill in two weeks. However, the measure could be tied to the hotly debated Education Reform bill.
Bryant Elementary School in Sioux City.
