Janine DavisRecord Staff WriterThe Wright City School Board voted last week to cut the school’s family and consumer science program to make time for more science, technology, engineering and math courses.The action followed a lengthy debate and highlighted the difficulty in choosing between two very different, but beneficial programs.In a 4-2 vote, the board came down in favor of the recommendation of a course offering study group to end the school’s FACS (Family and Consumer Science) program to make time for more STEM (Science. Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) classes.The study group said the STEM classes would help better prepare students for college, career and jobs in a “global economy.” The change would take effect in the 2014-2015 school year.Asked if the board considered eliminating any nonacademic programs instead of FACS, Superintendent Dr. Chris Gaines would only say that the “consideration was the recommendation coming from our high school course offerings study group.  The recommendation was to eliminate FACS and replace it with STEM courses.”In its report, the study group stated: “The group recommends replacing the FACs program with course offerings designed to educate and train our students in the science, technology, engineering and math areas to better prepare them to meet more rigorous college and career readiness goals in the 21st century.”The report said that the group had conducted research on the job market in the St. Louis area for 2020 and beyond and learned that most jobs will be in the areas of business, construction, technology, engineering, health care, and sales. This helped lead the group to the outcome of “more classes and programs to ensure our students’ success in these vital career areas,” the report states.Split VoteVoting in favor of following the study group’s recommendations were board officers Alice Klem, Austin Jones, Corri Ruge and Mary Groeper. Members Laura Marsh and Melissa Springmeyer voted no. Member Joseph Butterfield was not in attendance.“The board received the recommendations from the study group in September and was asked to act through a vote in October to allow the district planning time and enable the school to use its Title VI funds before the end of March,” said Gaines.The study group recommendations were presented at a town hall meeting in September.FACS supporters say parents either do not have time to teach kids basic cooking and housekeeping or do not possess those skills themselves, so schools must do it instead.During the public comments portion of the October board meeting, FACS teacher Madelene Flake addressed the board about the choice.“Why does something have to be eliminated in order to change something in the district?” Flake asked. “That’s something I’d like you to think about.”Flake said she had done her own research and that most of the schools she checked continue to offer FACS programs in middle school and high school.On its website, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) cites FACS as “local curriculum that helps students acquire critical thinking skills to solve everyday practical problems” in areas such as foods and nutrition, apparel/sewing, parenting/child development, housing and career and family leadership.Valid Arguments on Both SidesBoard members struggled with the decision as they listened to arguments from both sides on which to base their final decision.“I’m not in favor of getting rid of FACS,” said Springmeyer. “It’s a proven program that’s good for our students. The information they’re getting in those classes, they’re not getting anywhere else — at home or in the media. They need to get (that information) somewhere; I don’t want to take it away from those who need it.”Marsh said she also was opposed to dropping FACS classes.“I believe our students need the opportunity to take all types of classes, including FACS and STEM classes,” said Marsh. “There’s a need to prepare our students for after high school – academically, socially, and with everyday life-skills. We teach all kids, so we need to have a well-rounded set of classes for our students to take.”Board Secretary Corri Ruge said, “With the way life is in our area and children having to do more things for themselves and be their own caretakers, it really does require some of the things offered in the FACS classroom.” At the same time, Ruge said, she couldn’t disagree with the need for more STEM emphasis.“I’ve lost sleep over this,” said Treasurer Mary Groeper. “I see both sides. If I had a crystal ball to know what’s best for this district, I certainly would be using it at this point. This is one of those cases where being a board member is really hard. Your heart tells you one thing and your brain tells you something else.”Groeper said when the board first discussed the recommendations last month she was totally against the elimination of FACS, but had an “ah-ha” moment at the recent Missouri School Board Association conference as the meeting keynote speaker talked about the percentage of students not succeeding in their first year of college.Times Have ChangedGroeper said her own observations of how society and family life have changed over time come from shopping patterns she’s seen as owner of Economy Supermarket.“It used to be that on Friday nights or Saturdays, moms would come in and buy all the things they needed to cook meals for the week,” said Groeper. “Now people come in after work and buy prepared foods.”Board President Klem brought the discussion back to jobs.“The jobs are in technology, and that’s what we need to be preparing our kids for — to get those jobs,” said Klem, noting that some of the skills offered by FACS will be self-taught as young people become independent.Jones echoed Klem.“I happen to live this every day,” said Jones, whose career is in healthcare technology. “The majority of people I work with are from India, and a lot of that is because so many of our young people don’t have necessary computer skills. You need computer skills for college and if you’re going to work in construction or even auto mechanics.“The study group said, ‘we have one school day, and (we have to choose if) it’s going to be a FACS or STEM program during that day,’” said Jones. “From my experience, the STEM classes would be a better use of the time we have.”Wright City Eliminates FACS