At Issue: Piedmont Fayette, United Healthcare stalemate continues

We asked readers when they prefer to see schools begin.

Here’s what some had to say:

I'm in favor of a post-Labor Day start date for schools. I'm also in favor of a uniform state school start date. Each year our kids' summers are getting shorter, but the amount of summer school work stays the same. I also can't understand why nobody is taking into consideration the families with two working parents when planning extra weeks off during the school year. It's a huge financial strain, which seems completely unnecessary. Why not start school later to give kids a longer summer break and throw in a couple three- or four-day weekends? — Kristina Newby

As a parent of former Cobb students and a teacher in a Cobb school, the idea that a business entity has anything to do with our school's start time is abhorrent. Parents, teachers and students all appreciate the week-long breaks built into our calendar, so the vested interest of businesses should not trump the best interests of kids. — Aurelia Marzullo

I applaud the Cobb Chamber of Commerce in their initiative for a uniform start date, and no sooner than the last Monday in August. The school system keeps preaching on the importance of a good night's sleep before school. How am I supposed to get my child to go to sleep at 8:30 on a school night when it's still light outside until well past 9 p.m.? As to the teachers and administrators preferring the current schedule, I really have no sympathy. The breaks and personal days already afforded should allow them to fulfill their personal obligations and travel needs without adding these fall breaks and winter breaks in February that necessitate the earlier school start dates. — Melissa Dalburg

The children here have a ridiculous number of days off during the school year. It interferes with continuity of learning. — Sue Holden

I support changing the school schedule to start the last Monday in August or the first Tuesday in September. — Craig P. Woods

"Do we start school sooner or later after summer?" Wrong question. Right question: Why do we still have a long summer break in the school year? The academic year should be spread out across the calendar year, with no long breaks. The long break over June, July and August is an anachronism - left over from when most students worked on farms (and schools weren't air conditioned). Research and teacher experience have shown that students do better with shorter breaks. Spread the 180 days evenly across the year. — Shelton Jones

Post-Labor Day is the best option. Starting school in the middle of the summer was supposed to raise test scores since students wouldn't have an extended time to "forget" what they'd learned. An abbreviated summer has not had the desired outcome of raising test scores. Kids need down time to be kids in the summer, not a chopped-up week here and a week there during the school year. This is mainly teacher preference, not students or parents. — Diane Stepp

I think the first day of school should be after Labor Day and get out of school the first week of June. This way the buses are not polluting the air in the hot weather, the schools don't have to run the air conditioning so long and entertainment people - like Six Flags and the water parks - can make a living. Leave the three summer months open for summer. Let's start using some common sense. — T. Bentley

Stop the madness of school starting in August! If we are truly preparing our children to be productive, employed members of society, then we should allow them to experience working for more than six weeks at a time. — Beth Phillips

School should start in late August/Labor Day. Schools should stop trying to cram in a full semester before Christmas holidays. In the "Old Days," we completed most work before Christmas, then returned after them for review and first semester exams. This system worked well. Students did not "forget everything" over the holidays. If you check, school systems with later start dates do quite well with standardized testing. Additionally, it is dangerous for sports to practice outside in the hottest part of the summer. — John Looman

I always thought it to be odd that schools in the South started the first or second week of August. Now that my own child is school age, it's making planning for a family vacation with our European side of the family very difficult. School in London, for instance, is getting out the third week of July and, in most of Europe, sometime in June (varies by country). In order to see our England relatives, we have only nine days to consider for vacation, which does not really allow us much wiggle room to play around with flight dates. August is still a full summer month, and I am not sure how much kids are benefiting from going to school in August vs. September academically. I am pro last week of August or Sept. 1 school start date. — Kristel Imeraj

I totally agree that we need to wait until at least the end of August for school to start. We have the same problem every summer. My husband and I both have family in the North. They don't get out until much later in June and go back in September. That barely leaves us a month of the same summer vacation to plan to see family. As a former teacher, I have had students complain that they didn't want to go to recess because it's too hot to be outside. It would be much better to go longer in June and have more of August, the hottest month, off. — Kara Cheever

Take away September break and a week of winter break (do we really need two-plus weeks at winter break?) and you are already starting in mid-August. And isn't it costing the huge county a lot more money to keep the schools cool in the month of August than it is in May and early June? Maybe the school board needs to research how other states are doing their calendars and take note, especially since we are one of the lowest-performing states and could learn something from how it's done elsewhere. Let's hope there are some changes. My kids are so sweaty when they get off the bus after school - it's gross!! — Marcia Haber

The end of July or the first week in August is way too early for school to begin. If the kids had two more weeks off during the summer, they would still have a chance to enjoy the summer. A difference of two weeks would mean they would have a normal summer like other kids. One less break during the year would not be the worst thing - for both parent and child. — Jan Mintz

I am vehemently opposed to the insanely early start date for school in Cobb. I am a resident of the county; and with the calendar as it is now for 2017-18, my children will be starting school in July!! This is smack dab in the middle of summer and absurd! I am all for getting this changed for a number of reasons and hope, hope, hope this passes and reinstates a school calendar with a start date at the end of the summer. #summerlivesmatter — Danielle Cohen

If a program is needed for summer "down time," a program might be offered for remedial or extra challenge. Begin school later! — Geraldine McCarley

I support the school year running from very late August through late June. — Kristi Allpere

I just moved to East Cobb on Aug. 8 from New York. One issue that keeps coming up is the Aug. 1 school start date. I haven't met a single person that thinks it's a good idea. Coming from New York, we always started the Tuesday after Labor Day. A few times, they had us start right before Labor Day and it felt strange. People weren't happy. It was still summer! Needless to say, we went back to starting after Labor Day and all was right in the world. Here starting Aug. 1 feels cruel! We are cheating our kids out of a month of summer. I've asked everyone I see what the reasoning is for this early start, and no one knows. One thing they all agree on though is that it's awful. Kids who go to camp outside of this area need to leave camp early. Teen tours are very difficult, if not impossible, to do. High schoolers are not able to do traditional internships/college programs because of the timing, and the list goes on. — Marci Talarico

I believe that school scheduling is a mixed bag. Children from families with the means can benefit from a variety of nonschool activities. Children need to be offered activities other than TV and computer! There is much to be learned that is not taught in school. I understand that working families struggle to afford childcare when there is no school. I also feel that school should not be viewed as a babysitter. Learning of a different sort can and should be encouraged and guided, so children do not lose all of their academic achievement. I fondly remember summers when I was in elementary school. Much of what I learned outside of school has stayed with me into my later years. I am so glad my children are grown and do not have to go to school in August (the hottest month of the year)! Labor Day comes soon enough. — Sydney Sivertsen

I believe that school should start after Labor Day so that children have a full summer break to explore other experiences. In addition, costs of providing air conditioning at schools would be less later in the summer. — Juliet Cohen

I have many issues with starting school earlier. But the biggest problem with starting school Aug. 1 (next year July 31) is if your high school student wants to do any sort of traditional internship or college program, they would have to leave two to three weeks early - if even accepted. The majority of the U.S. starts school the last week of August/first week of September, so those high school students have the upper hand on their resume. We all do the same amount of school days. Let's start later. End later. — E. Oppenheim

I used to like it when my kids started school the week before Labor Day. It gave them a week to get settled into their classes. Then we had a three-day weekend and afterward a shorter week. Now my grandchildren started school Aug. 3rd! It cuts the summer short, and it is too hot. Everyone I know, parents and grandparents, think it is ridiculous to be starting school so early. So I vote for late August for the school starting time. — Beverly Moss

Most of the rest of the school systems in the USA begin the day after Labor Day and finish at the beginning of June. Most of the rest of USA school systems generate student learning outcomes well above the levels of public schools in Georgia. Air conditioning expenses for operating schools during August is generally higher than May. Operating schools on a schedule of six weeks of school, one week off throughout the school year can cause hardships for working parents and has a negative impact on travel, tourism and summer camp programs. It is time for Georgia to get back to the schedule most of the country has found very productive. — Harris Gottlieb

There's just too much school, period. The school year should be reduced. Kids should get out the last week of May or first week of June and not go back until September. I say this because it's different now. Kids these days have to do more than my generation. They not only have to make excellent grades; they have to take AP classes and build an academic resume with numerous extracurricular activities just to get into a good college. Children need to know they've got a three-month reprieve to just be kids. My children, particularly my eldest child, is always so stressed out about the demands of school. It just breaks my heart. Summer reading is another thing that should be abolished. Some kids like to read and others don't. You won't change that by requiring books and reports during the summer. It is ruining the short summer that we have by making kids do school work during what should be their break/vacation time. It's like taking a vacation from your job and having to still do your job from the beach. Ridiculous! — Kimberly S. Tribble

I am a DeKalb County teacher, and I am not a fan of the early start dates for the school year for two reasons. We have never begun school with a fully functioning air-conditioning system. If you want to suck the excitement out of the start of a school year, send teachers and children into a 90-degree room. If we are going to start school in July, our leaders need to make sure conditions are better for the employees and, most importantly, the students. With social media and 24/7 connectedness, we are increasingly a part of the global community. Most of the rest of the world doesn't start school in late July. — Dale Duncan

School should start later in August, maybe the third week. It is so hot in August. Do all of the school buses have air conditioning? What about all of the emissions from the buses during the hot weather? Also a concern is starting football so early in the heat. I do realize it throws off the schedule to finish a semester by Christmas break. I also understand that the teachers like having a fall break. There should be some kind of compromise. — Terri Ragsdale

As a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and concerned citizen, I am pleading for school to start after Labor Day. School starts in August or maybe late July in Georgia. Why? These two months are the hottest months of the year. Young men, children die each year from the heat at football practice - one is too many. The schools have to have air conditioners running full time - cost to taxpayers. School buses are affecting our environment with diesel fumes polluting the air we breathe and the atmosphere. Our economy is affected by the short summer. Places like Six Flags, White Water and our beaches may have to close. I'm sure the school schedule could be made to accommodate a more reasonable time frame. Please, someone with some common sense address this problem. — Anne Bentley

I would like to see our public schools (we attend Fulton County schools) start later in the summer - toward the end of August at the earliest - and would like to see them continue to end at the end of May. The additional day off here and there does not provide the much-needed break that children need during the summer. They need the opportunity to do something different and try something new. Often this requires longer periods of time. — Michelle Maddix-Sovero

— Carolyn Cunningham for the AJC

On July 1, thousands of United Healthcare subscribers in Fayette County and nearby areas lost medical insurance coverage with more than 1,400 physicians who are part of the Piedmont Clinic system, as well as with Piedmont Fayette, Piedmont Henry and Piedmont Newnan hospitals.

Contract negotiations between Piedmont and United Healthcare were not resolved by June 30, with each blaming the other for not coming to terms that would have continued in-network coverage for many commercial employees as well as individuals covered under three Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace commercial plans.

Individuals with United Healthcare plans can continue using Piedmont doctors and facilities, but must pay much higher out-of-network costs to do so. This leaves many people with the difficult choice of either having to find new insurance coverage or new doctors.

United Healthcare issued a statement saying, “We offered Piedmont fair and competitive rate increases that would ensure their hospitals and physicians are paid appropriately for the important services they provide. But the health system wanted significantly higher rate increases for the next three years without committing to any facility performance measures that emphasize quality care, paying for improved health outcomes, and lower costs.”

On July 29, Piedmont sent letters to affected patients saying, “Piedmont has worked hard since last November to resolve the out-of-network status of Piedmont facilities. … These efforts have produced no results and, in fact, United’s negotiating position has gone backward in the last month.” Piedmont posted online that “It is not our intention to permanently dissolve our working relationship if a new contract can be established.”

Both companies have set up websites defending their positions, but in the meantime, the tug of war over money has many patients in Fayette County with the difficult decision of either delaying care, paying more to see their existing doctors, finding new doctors or switching health insurance companies later in the year during open enrollment, which wouldn’t take effect until January 2017.

So tell us, are you or someone you know affected by conflicts between doctors and insurance companies? Do you base medical decisions on insurance coverage? Share your thoughts at communitynews@ajc.com or on our Facebook page.