Palo Alto High School economics teacher Debbie Whitson will give a speech to the Palo Alto school board against moving finals before winter break tonight. Whitson teaches economics and Advanced Placement economics to juniors and seniors.

The following are Whitson’s prepared remarks:

“My name is Debbie Whitson. I am an economics teacher and the parent of a junior and graduate. I realized this calendar issue can draw strong opinions, but ask that the Board look beyond the immediate feat of the moment to the huge costs of the structural change for the district. According to the PAUSD teacher survey, teachers support pre-break finals in theory. Who would disagree to a break after finals? But when teachers were asked if they would be willing to pay the cost of it — giving up curriculum for uneven semesters — or coming back to school five to six days earlier, the popularity of PBF (pre-break final) diminished dramatically.

Teachers were not even surveyed about starting two weeks earlier which is included in the calendar here. As an  economics teacher, this suggests to me that the marginal cost is greater than the marginal benefit; and that means, don’t invest. I recommend an exploration of what has been identified as the main cause of stress among students: homework load. I support exploration and ultimately adjustments in this area.”