Wake County soon will need more high schools while elementary school population declines, and there’s a rethinking of the number of year-round schools required.

This is not surprising. There’s a slow-down in the Wake housing market expansion, and the elementary students joining the system a few years ago are aging and moving up to middle schools and high schools.

Soon we’ll go to the polls to vote for or against yet another billion dollar bond issue so $70-plus million high schools can be constructed. A few years later, due the lower influx of elementary students, the number of high school students will reduce and we’ll have large, partially filled facilities that cannot be operated efficiently.

It’s a vicious cycle which can be stopped with a little ingenuity, a lot of guts and a determined school board that will take on teachers who don’t like the idea, parents with closed minds and the General Assembly.

I propose year-round high schools. Not the traditional four-track type, but trimesters with block-scheduling with students attending two of the three trimesters a year. This would save on unnecessary construction costs, reduce enrollment by a third and offer a better academic atmosphere.

Divide the academic year into: Winter/Spring trimester — January thru April; Summer — May thru August; Fall — September thru December. For November and December holiday seasons, adjust the dates. Student would choose and/or be assigned to two trimesters. Enrollment as compared to the traditional calendar would be reduced by one-third. A high school now with 3,000 students would have 2,000 during a trimester.

Schedule six 50-minute class blocks a day. At 7:30 a.m., the first two blocks would be for the same class/subject. At 9:30, another 50-minute schedule begins with some students taking the same class for two straight blocks, some skipping a block for a 10:30 lunch and then returning to that class at 11:30. At 11:30, there is a 50-minute block for lunch or a 50-minute elective. At 12:30, the same. And, at 1:30, two blocks of the same class. Class is dismissed at 3:30. There would be 10-minute breaks between class blocks.

The two-50-minute-session courses would include core subjects for graduation and college prep. Electives would be “nonacademic” courses: chorus, band, physical education and others. Students would complete three core courses in one trimester, or 24 in a four-year period, plus the electives. To do this, the General Assembly would have to change the requirement to hours in school from days in school.

For extracurricular activities, students could participate if they meet enrollment requirements even if not in classes that trimester. Football players would not have to be enrolled during the fall and neither would basketball players be required to attend school during fall and winter/spring. Coaches, though, would probably want their players in school during playing seasons.

As a benefit to the community, only one-third of the student body would be in search of “full-time” jobs when not in school. It’s possible and probable that three students could share a job year-round, each taking a turn when out of school.

This idea puts in excess of $70 million per new high school back into the pockets of taxpayers or frees up money for educational programs such as increased pay for teachers, especially those who are willing to work three trimesters in a row without a break.

As the migration to Wake County slows, as space to add homes decreases, as families coming to this area locate in adjoining counties, why should we build schools now just to wonder what to do with them later? I’m usually for bond issues for education but let’s look at alternatives before spending.