The change would also increase time students would have to spend in classrooms and on playgrounds during one of the hottest months of the year, she said.
Trustees acknowledged Niver’s concerns but argued in support of the change, which would mirror most college and university calendars.
“The idea is that it gives students the advantage of ending their semester in advance of the holidays,” Supt. Gregory Bowman said.
The calendar could not be changed without being approved in negotiations with teachers and other district employees, said Gabe Soumakian, assistant superintendent for human resources.
Trustees also heard news related to the district’s finances.
Student enrollment in the district may remain stable over the next 10 years, even as most California school districts are showing declining figures, a demographer told the board.
Recent enrollment and population trends show the district will likely not experience serious declines because its average enrollment has been remarkably stable over the last three years and beyond, said Dean Waldfogel, vice president of DecisionInsite, a demographics firm that specializes in school trends.
About 86% of the district’s general fund is allocated from the state based on student attendance, said Lori Ordway-Peck, assistant superintendent of student services.
Drastic changes in enrollment would have a large effect on the district’s budget and typically require educators to add or reduce facilities and staffing, depending on whether the changes are positive or negative, Bowman said.
Because the district will likely not see major shifts, it will avoid those costs, he said.
Waldfogel gave a presentation to the board that included a table with statistics showing that the average enrollment at every grade level from kindergarten through 12th grade remained stable at 100% or increased over the last three years.
“I’ve never seen that before,” said Waldfogel, who has worked on analyses for 50 school districts.
The district does have more students in high school than in elementary schools, with the size of graduating high school classes dwarfing those of incoming kindergartners, he said.
Regardless of the fiscal implications related to the projections, Bowman and board members took time to criticize state lawmakers for putting off a solution to California’s growing budget deficit.
Any budget solution should be balanced and offer educators flexibility to use all resources possible in order to solve budget shortfalls, Bowman said.
“This country was built on public schools, and we need to make sure that the funding is sound, and that it continues in an uninterrupted fashion,” he said.
