Local school officials push for better attendance

Burbank school officials are pushing parents to help prevent unnecessary absences after the district reported losing about $4.5 million in revenue during the 2014-15 school year.

While school officials acknowledge that some absences are inevitable, due to illness and medical appointments, they are encouraging parents to “make every attempt” to schedule medical and dental appointments outside of school hours, according to a post on the district’s website.

Brian O’Rourke, coordinator of student services, said officials also circulated fliers on campuses to remind parents that each student absence cost the district $44 during the last school year.

With 15,200 students in Burbank schools, that equates to an average of nearly seven absences per student during the last school year.

“We still push for attendance,” O’Rourke said. “We always want it to improve. In general, our attendance rate is 96% or above. That’s outstanding. We would love it to be higher.”

O’Rourke also cited another reason why attendance is important.

“It’s also the student missing instructional time. The more absences they have, the more they fall behind.”

He cited a study showing that even if a student shows up five minutes late to school every day for a full school year, they will have missed two full weeks of school.

“It really adds up,” he said.

The absences also accumulate in lost dollars that the district may otherwise put toward lower class sizes and materials, he added.

“We really are extremely grateful to the parents who have their kids there every day,” he said.