The Cupertino Courier

CUSD studies up on year-round schedule

Idea is considered one option for gaining more space for 20-to-1 plan

By Katherine Petersen

The Cupertino Union School District board approved smaller class sizes in grades K-3 earlier this year. But finding 70 classrooms to make the plan work is proving to be the tricky part.

One solution to the space problem could be year-round schooling.

A 34-member task force that explored year-round education in CUSD for nearly eight months reported to trustees Aug. 26 that such a program is workable, but also urged more study of the issue.

The next school board, which could have as many as three new trustees after the November election, will face finding classroom space as one of its first challenges.

One year-round scenario divides each school's student population into fourths. Every four weeks, one group of students would begin a four-week break while another returned to school for its next 12-week session.

Put simply, one-fourth of the school's students would always be on vacation, leaving the campus only three-quarters full throughout the year. Consquently, more space is available for smaller class sizes.

The "multitrack" system could increase the amount of classroom space at each school by 20 percent, said Chuck Corr, CUSD's director of business services. Students would attend school the same number of days per year.

Barbara Fielden, a McAuliffe parent who is running for the school board, cautioned that year-round education is only a piece of the whole facilities picture.

"It shouldn't just be a facilities issue, but be an issue of what's good for kids instructionally," she said. "I need more information to make an informed decision. My gut feeling is that I would be surprised if multitrack year-round education met all the needs of all the families in the district."

Julius Chiang, a school board candidate and West Valley parent, would also want to be sure that year-round education was the best solution for the children before approving such a program.

"I have no problem with year-round education, but would want to study all the available options," he said. "I think children need to take a little rest, and I'd like to see at least a monthlong break between sessions."

The district's growth must also be factored into the equation, Chiang added.

While the year-round schedule would yield more classrooms, it would also give students shorter summer breaks. Some say that means less time for students to forget what they learned the year before.

School board candidate Ben Liao said that on the one hand, families would have more flexibility with vacations under a year-round schedule. But parents might have an elementary student and junior high student in school at different times, making family vacations difficult to schedule.

"My son and daughter have forgotten some of their lessons from last semester," he said. "But this type of program would help solve some of the facility problems facing the district. I think we need to study our options and give parents things to choose from."

A committee will compare the cost of paying principals and support staff for year-round work with the cost of nine-month contracts. It will also examine the ongoing cost of renting portables versus the one-time cost of buying portables. The committee will bring its results to the board by Nov. 1. If the district opts for portable classrooms, they must be ordered before Christmas, Corr said.

Community meetings will be a part of the decision-making process, he said.

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