Long Beach : Small Group Presses Protest Against Year-Round Schools

A small but persistent group of protesters took their campaign against year-round schools to this week’s Long Beach Unified School District board meeting.

The 10 parents and teachers toted signs and threatened petition drives and a recall of board members if officials move forward with plans to convert to year-round classes.

“People have a right to vote on this,” said parent and organizer Chris Campbell, whose daughter goes to Lowell Elementary, an east Long Beach campus that is less crowded than some inner city schools that already have switched to a year-round schedule.

The school board voted last year to change the district’s 55 elementary and 14 middle schools to year-round schedules by July, 1994, to ease overcrowding. The still-growing school system swelled this year to 74,000 students, the second largest enrollment in district history.

Changing to a year-round schedule would make the district eligible for more state school construction and air-conditioning funds. So far, nine schools operate on a 60-day on, 20-day off calendar. Three more, Signal Hill, Lafayette and King elementary schools, are scheduled to make the change July 22.