I feel the urge to comment on the Aug. 23 editorial in the Morning Sentinel. I agree with an after Labor Day start to the school year. I disagree with the assumptions made that a later start “puts low-income kids at a disadvantage.”

I started school many years ago (about 1935). I came from a very poor family, thus I would qualify as a “low-income kid.” As I recollect, we started school at 8:30 a.m., had a break for lunch, then got out at 3:30 p.m. (not 2 p.m.).

I may not be the sharpest tack in the wall, but I was able to learn to read, write (including penmanship) and do some simple math (including multiplication tables). I realize there is much more to learn today, but reading, writing and some simple math, I believe, are as essential in today’s world as they have ever been.

I understand that in SAD 9 the school buses travel an average of 2,800 miles per day (prior to Starks entry). It would seem to me we should keep those students at school a while longer each day. Let’s not have as many Wednesday afternoons off for “teacher’s workshops.”

Let’s leave the school starting date as the day after Labor Day.

Fred W. Hardy

New Sharon