"When you have to put forward a budget that closes a gap of more than $41 billion, criticism is going to be implicit in any proposal, whether in the education area or in health and human services or on the revenue side.
"That's why, before we came out with this proposal, we wanted to engage the education community at the front end of the process to get their views on how we can try to . . . do the least amount of damage possible," he said.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Saturday, January 10, 2009 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 58 words Type of Material: Correction
L.A. Unified layoff notices: An article in Thursday's Section A on educators' reactions to a proposal to cut five days of school to deal with the state budget crisis said the Los Angeles Unified School District had sent layoff notices to 2,300 teachers this week. The Board of Education will vote Tuesday on whether to send the notices.
Lobbyist Sandy Silberstein, who represents Riverside County's 23 school districts, noted that districts would not be required to eliminate days. She said the proposal -- along with another that allows restricted funds, such as those in textbook accounts, to be used more freely -- gives school districts greater leeway in deciding how to weather the economic storm.
"What we have said . . . is give us the longest menu of flexible options," she said. "That is the only way we will survive this."
The 2009-10 budget is far from finalized, and it is unknown whether the school-year proposal will survive negotiations in Sacramento. But education probably will face major cuts because it makes up about 40% of the state budget.
Currently, the state requires 175 days of school, although an annual fiscal incentive created in 1983 prompted most districts to provide 180 days of instruction.
Many other countries require far more. Indian and Chinese students spend more weeks in the classroom every year than their American counterparts.
Education advocates have been calling for more days in the American school calendar for decades, notably in "A Nation at Risk," a 1983 report that called on states to create a 200- to 220-day school year, as well as more instructional time in the day.
Research has consistently shown students, if engaged academically, benefit from more classroom time.
"You don't need a PhD to understand that the more days students work with teachers, the more they learn," said Bruce Fuller, a professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley.
O'Connell's fear that districts serving more low-income students or minorities would bear the brunt of the cuts is true in Pasadena, where the district could not afford to pay for the five days, said Pasadena Unified School District Supt. Edwin Diaz.
"It's a huge step backward and is going in the opposite direction of what we need in this state to close the achievement gap and improve performance for all kids," he said. "We need more time with the kids."
