Kids lose their summer break due to impenetrable bureaucratic mess

[masuki bance]

A bureaucratic boondoggle in the western San Bernardino County, California school district will cost the students their summer breaks -- the schools inadvertently introduced a school-time shortfall amounting to two school days' worth of instruction time over the entire school year. Due to a quirk of regulation, they have to keep the schools in session for an extra thirty four days or lose $7 million in funding.


"We made an error on the minimum days of about five minutes," said Dickson Principal Sue Pederson. "Realistically, that's our accounting mistake as adults. We're unfortunately making the children pay for it by making them give up their summer."

Students at each school exceeded the state's requirement of at least 54,000 minutes of annual classroom time, but the problem arose in the district's minimum days. Schools typically have one shortened day per week, allowing teachers to use the remaining time for planning and parent conferences. Under state law, these days must be at least 180 minutes, and the daily average classroom time over 10 consecutive days must be 240 minutes.

An internal audit in early May discovered that 34 minimum days had been 175 minutes at Dickson and 170 at Rolling Ridge, said district spokeswoman Julie Gobin. That adds up to a shortage of 170 and 340 minutes, respectively, which could be made up in one or two school days. But under state law, these too-short days do not count at all, meaning that all 34 must be made up to avoid a state penalty of more than $7 million.

"The penalties for not meeting the instructional time requirements are high, much higher than just making up of the time," said Hilary McLean, spokeswoman for the state Department of Education. "It was the intent of the Legislature to make the penalties so stiff to discourage districts from shaving off minutes here and there."

http://www.boingboing.net/2009/06/17/kids-loose-their-sum.html

That's awful.

[UrbScotty]

1. Outrageous.

[billyoc]

2. Ooh, nice overtime for the teachers.

:woohoo:

[cagesoulman]

9. Actually not. They're using frigging subs

Subs plus kids who got screwed over because of some bureacratic asswipe. There's a recipe for disaster.

[masuki bance]

11. What's the deal with that? Teachers get a short year that

screws the kids and their families vacation plans, then they go off to party while these poor kids are stuck in the classroom with make work.

[cagesoulman]

13. Teachers didn't do this shit. It was some asshole administrator type

All this shit for 5 minutes a day. They can't just make up 180 minutes?

[madeline_con]

3. Parents should refuse en masse. The school district works for them,

not the other way around. If they factor in the days spent watching movies and doing other noncurricular activities, they'd realize no one really attends 180 days of academic instruction and get over it.

We have some local schools that get extended school year becaues of the demographics. The majority of kids just need more time to learn.

[TahitiNut]

4. Uh-huh... and the California taxpayers would LOVE to save $7 million.

:eyes:

[surrealAmerican]

5. Why aren't these schedules submitted to the state for approval ...

... before they are implemented?

[donco6]

6. Uh, because the vast majority of schools do it right?

Because ONE school fucks up, ALL of them have to submit schedules to the state?

It's not fucking rocket science. I've done it for 14 years for 17 schools.

[surrealAmerican]

10. I didn't say they should be required to.

I was thinking more that they would want to if they were trying something new that they were less than completely certain about.

[donco6]

15. When I read "for approval" it sounds required.

But OK, thanks for the clarification.

It would be helpful for the someone at the state to review them if they wanted help. For newbies it can be a little scary.

[Arugula Latte]

7. That seems like one of those nightmares you have where you're back in school

But this is real. Wow, poor kids. What a tremendous drag.

[latebloomer]

8. Utter BS

And nobody can do anything to change this?

My kids wouldn't be going, I'll tell you that.

[stumprancher]

14. Hardly any

...kids whose parents have any sense will be there.

[LeftyMom]

16. A lot of them are probably thrilled to be getting out of paying for summer childcare.

I wouldn't allow my kid's time to be wasted like that, but he's already not in public school because I don't care to have his time wasted.

[piedmont]

12. I'd politely tell them to fuck off. I'm sure there's a lawsuit in the works. nt

[dsc]

17. I hope they are at least serving breakfast and lunch

so that one good thing can come from this. Kids who otherwise wouldn't eat, will. I know that is only a small portion but for that small portion this could be the best summer ever.