Furlough Days Prompt School Board to Delay 2012-13 Calendar

Adopting an instructional calendar is usually a formality. In fact, the 's Board of Trustees has always approved the calendar when it first appeared on the agenda -- at least, as far back as the current trustees can recall.

That changed Wednesday night when board members questioned the timing of furlough days included in the 2012-13 calendar. They delayed adoption of the calendar and, informally, asked district administrators and the Association of Piedmont Teachers (APT) to revisit the issue.

Furlough days, when teachers are not paid and students do not attend school, are a cost-cutting measure adopted by school districts as state funding for education has shrunk in recent years. The current school year is the first time the PUSD has had furlough days.

Piedmont's proposed 2012-13 calendar includes five such days: Monday, Aug. 20, 2012 (a professional development furlough day before students return to school); Monday, Oct. 8, 2012; Thursday and Friday, Nov. 1 and 2, 2012; and Wednesday, March 20, 2013.

The issue is complicated by two factors. The calendar is a negotiated item with the APT, which means any changes will have to be voted on and approved by the organization's membership. And there's been some talk among parents' club members and district officials that parents might "buy back" one or more furlough days in 2012-13 by donating the $90,000 per day it costs to keep PUSD's schools open. (This school year, the Piedmont Educational Foundation is "buying back" a Jan. 30, 2012, furlough day through a grant to the district.)

Board members raised a variety of questions, including:

• How difficult the proposed furlough days would be for working parents without child care coverage.
• Whether having two furlough days in November would cut into classroom time too much. Veterans Day and a five-day Thanksgiving break are already school holidays, and at the elementary school level, parent-teacher conferences will take up an estimated two days.
• Whether the proposed furlough days are good choices if parents do not "buy back" those days through donations. Would a different schedule have less impact on working parents if the schools actually close on furlough days?
• Whether having two furlough days immediately before the November 2012 general election is wise politically.

The board voted 4-1 to continue (postpone) a decision until more discussions have taken place. Board President Roy Tolles cast the dissenting vote, saying he would prefer to reject the calendar and wait for a new proposal.

Under the proposed calendar, the first day of school for students would be Aug. 22, 2012, and the last day would be June 13, 2012. Those dates are likely to remain unchanged.

You can see the proposed calendar in the agenda for the Dec. 14 board meeting, available on the PUSD website.