It’s back to the drawing board — or perhaps one of the new $5,000 computerized SMART Boards the Vicksburg Warren School District expects to receive via federal stimulus funds.

A two-year experiment with an “intercession” calendar sounded great but hasn’t worked out, so, at the suggestion of Superintendent James Price, school trustees pulled the plug.

The calendar starting this fall will be more “traditional” and will no longer include several days after each nine-week period for special classes to allow lagging students to try to catch up. Price’s theory — a good one — was that offering slower learners the opportunity to keep pace would result in their not falling further and further behind. Perhaps they could even avoid summer school if “remediated” on topics while still fresh on their minds. Learning comes in layers, mastering the next level dependent on mastering the one before.

But it was not to be. While many parents took the district’s offer seriously and jumped at the opportunity to stay current, indifference carried the day.

“If the students are not coming, it’s not worth spending the money on it,” Price said before January’s intercession period. “Money is tight and is going to continue to be.”

By the numbers, the district has 2,800 students in grades 3-6. Of the total, 800 were deemed eligible for last month’s  sessions. Admittedly, the weather was bad, but only 384 attended the first day.

There are bright spots, but overall the local public school district, formerly “average” on the state scale, is now ranked “at risk of failing.”

People, as they tend to do, will place blame on teachers, on parents and on students or on all three. But it’s up to administrators continually to try to fight against the overall tide of less interest in learning. Expect administrators here to do just that. Giving up is not an option.