LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: TRY TRACKING PLAN INSTEAD OF BUILDING

To the editor:

I am writing in the interest of the overtaxed residents of the Jackson School District and in favor of the adoption of a year-around school plan. My children were raised under this plan to help offset the need for school construction during a high-enrollment per-iod in the 1960s and 1970s.

Students would be divided into four tracks depending on their location within the district. At any given time, three tracks would be attendance and one track would be on vacation. Each track would attend school for nine weeks followed by a three-week vacation.

Some of the benefits of this system:

* Increase the capacity utilization of each school by 25 percent.

*n Balances classroom head count and teacher-student ratio while also lessening the demand for new teachers.

* Reduces the need for school construction or expansion and the need for higher taxes.

* Provides opportunities for off-peak vacation periods. For example, a family could visit Disneyland in October rather than July.

* Enhances student retention of subject matter due to shorter break periods.

Adoption of this system would allow the Jackson School District to provide 25 percent more capacity to our schools without the significant costs that would otherwise be necessary. I urge this newspaper and all Jackson residents to consider this approach as a sensible alternative to higher taxation.

BART EATON

Jackson, Mo.