Ever since Superintendent Jeff Hauswald gave an interview to The Optimist about a possible schedule change and MCCSC released a parent letter confirming the news, students have been wondering about the details. The Optimist staff set out to find answers.

QUESTION: Who makes the decision about a possible schedule change? Does the school board vote? Does Superintendent Jeff Hauswald decide?

Any potential change would not be put to a board vote. Hauswald makes the decision, after receiving input from the students, families, the community, the teachers’ union, and board members. 

QUESTION: When will the decision be made?

Assistant Principal Joe Doyle said there is no definitive date and he cannot make a clear reliable guess. However, Hauswald has said a new schedule will be in place for the 2024-2025 school year. 

QUESTION: Why would South potentially change schedules?

Hauswald said in the September 26 school board meeting that the goal of the change is “to create greater equity and address some of the barriers that exist.” He added that he’d like to “provide access to classes that exist at one school and not another.” For example, if your school didn’t have AP Chemistry, but another school did, then you could still join the class remotely. 

QUESTION: What would the new schedule be?

In an interview with The Optimist, Hauswald said, “Right now our administrative team has only identified the goal of a common schedule for next year…” Hauswald said his office would seek input from families, students, and teachers. “There is no schedule designed right now.” 

QUESTION: Should 2025 early graduates be worried about their schedule?

Head counselor Patrick Cannon said students who planned to graduate early would face several hurdles if the schedule changes next year. 

 “It will be extremely difficult to get anybody with an academic honors diploma” in a position to graduate early, Cannon said. Those students would need to take summer courses. South has about 403 seniors in the class of 2024, 60 of those students are predicted to graduate early (15%). If the new schedule was semester-based, that number will “drastically go down,” Cannon said.  

QUESTION: If we switch schedules, will we still have Panther Plus?

Doyle said, “I haven’t been involved in many of the scheduled conversations; it seems to be something that’s kind of happening in real time, but I haven’t heard any mention that we wouldn’t have Panther Plus.”

QUESTION: The superintendent said that it’s not equitable to have North and South on different schedules because of transfer students. How many students transfer between North and South each year?

Cannon said roughly five-10 students transfer from North to South. Students also transfer to South from other schools within the state, country, and world. To his knowledge, no students have lost credit because of their transfer. 

QUESTION: How can I offer a comment to the MCCSC school board and Hauswald? There are several on-line comment forms you can use, one is via Parent Square. You can also email school board members. They’re email addresses are available here. The next school board meeting is October 24.