Schools
Later Start to the School Year for Marina Del Rey Students? L.A. Unified Leaders Think It's a Good Idea
Heat concerns and conflict with family vacations prompted 3 board members to introduced a resolution for a later start to the school year.
LOS ANGELES, CA -- Citing concerns about the heat and conflicts with family vacations, three members of the Los Angeles Unified School District board Tuesday called for a later start to the school year.
LAUSD classes for the fall began on Aug. 16, at the tail end of a days- long heat wave, but school board members Richard Vladovic, George McKenna and Scott Schmerelson want that date pushed back by about three weeks in future years, beginning as early as 2017-18.
The trio introduced a resolution saying the district has heard repeated concerns about the hot weather forcing students to remain indoors -- limiting their physical activity -- and about the cost of running air conditioners to keep classrooms cool.
Find out what's happening in Marina Del Reyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Maintenance on AC units is an ongoing and increasingly costly issue, including rising electrical costs; additionally, some activities must be conducted in rooms or facilities built without climate control," according to the resolution, which is expected to return to the board for discussion and a vote on Sept. 20.
The resolution also states that the district has received complaints from families "unable to travel due to affordability and time-off periods running concurrent with the August start period, or parents opting to travel when they can afford and/or have leave time from work, thus causing children to miss critical start-of-year classroom time."
Find out what's happening in Marina Del Reyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The resolution asks that the start of the school year be delayed until an unspecified date after Labor Day beginning next year.
The LAUSD moved up the start of school in 2012, opining that the earlier start would allow the semester to end before the winter break, meaning students can take midterm exams prior to the winter holiday break.
District officials also said the change bolsters scores on Advanced Placement exams in the spring and allows the school year to end in June, giving students more options for college and university summer programs, and for summer jobs.
The 2016-17 school year is scheduled to end June 9.
— City News Service. Image via Shutterstock
