I believe the "Balanced

Calendar" in Fayette County would be great. Is the "scorching,

breathless, Georgia heat" less intense at the child care center than

at the elementary school? Wouldn't it be better for children to be in

the air conditioned schools when the weather is at its worst? My children

are adept at taking nature hikes year round. They feel no obligation to

wait for summer.

All our children will be in

school 180 days. The amount of time the Zhuño children will spend

being raised by their teachers and day care providers will work out the

same, just in different times of the year.

How many working parents battle

with coworkers for the same few weeks of vacation during the summer? With

vacation weeks scattered through the year, families can travel to the

many vacation destinations within a day's drive of Atlanta without fighting

the summer crowds. Many vacation spots are discounted in the off season,

so money can be saved. There are countless destinations that are actually

better to visit during September than during the hot summer months. A

Balanced Calendar would allow this additional flexibility, and still permit

summer trips during June and July.

I'm sure that a hundred years

ago there were many who argued that horses had served their families faithfully

for decades and they saw no need to change over to the noisy and dangerous

automobiles. Of course there may be a downside to change of the schedule,

but the Balanced Calendar would be such an improvement to the current

system that it would justify the change. Don't allow the provincial thinking

of a few keep the rest of us from enjoying a better system.

David Widtfeldt

Peachtree City

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