We have two children attending Adairsville Middle School 16 miles away. Currently they get on the bus at 7:25 AM and return home at 4:25. That makes for a 9 hour day. Now the school system is wanting to lengthen that time to 9 and a half hours. I can commute to Atlanta, 55 miles away, for an 8 hour work day in nearly the same amount of time. When will this madness stop?

Each year, every year, all year long you hear CRCT. Everything revolves around the CRCT. Then when the CRCT has come and gone, teaching stops. But there remains weeks of school. Each year after the CRCT the kids start cleaning out their lockers, home work ceases and the fun begins, but there are still several weeks of school left. Why aren't these weeks used more effectively? If not for review why not introduce the next year's curriculum?

Don't get me wrong, this is not an Adairsville Middle problem but a system wide problem. We have two children who went up through the Cass Middle/Cass High district and had the same thing happen, as soon as the CRCT is over the teaching stops.

There is so much time wasted during the school year and now the system has the wisdom to punish the children further. Who's with me? Our plan is to check our children out each day for the 25 lengthened days. Do you think "they" will get the hint?

Ron Gibson

Cartersville