The head of the Los Angeles Unified School District has proposed shortening the school year by six days in an effort to minimize layoffs as part of a looming budget deficit.
Superintendent Ramon Cortines said in a news release that the move would save the nation’s second-largest school system a projected $90 million and an estimated 5,000 jobs.
The state budget for the 2010 fiscal year allowed districts to reduce the school year by five days. The proposed sixth day would be a student-free workday. Mr. Cortines acknowledged that the move would be drastic but said the alternative could be bankruptcy. The district is facing a projected $640 million deficit for the 2010-11 school year.
