School Officials Say Shortened Year Will Increase Costs

A move by the Los Angeles Unified School District to shorten the spring semester so that employees can collect unemployment benefits will likely cost the district far more in the long run than the $800,000 it hopes to save in operating costs, school officials said Tuesday.

In the worst case, the district could end up paying the state about $18 million in the 1994-95 fiscal year, triple the amount it now pays for unemployment insurance premiums, said David E. Koch, head of the district’s business services division.

State Employment Development Department officials said it is too early to predict what the premium will be for that year. According to state formulas, it is possible--but not likely--that costs for the Los Angeles district will rise as high as $18 million, the officials said.

“Los Angeles will have a major impact on the system because there is no other school district in the state” participating in a special benefits program, said Anita MacKenzie, employment department spokeswoman. “But it remains to be seen how many people participate and what the actual costs will be.”

On a 4-3 vote Monday, the board approved the plan to shorten the spring term by eight days, mainly because it would allow its 75,000 employees to qualify for the state’s workshare program, which provides up to $46 a day for furloughed workers.

School board President Leticia Quezada, who opposed the plan, said the board was warned by staff in closed session that costs could rise in the future.

She called approval of the plan a troubling example of how the board “resolves an immediate problem and deals with the consequences later.” She said that because of the district’s tight finances, paying out several million dollars more--even with a$3.9-billion annual budget--presents “a problem for me.”

“In the end, decisions like this come back to haunt us,” Quezada said.

A majority of the board disagreed, saying that the move would help ease labor strife in the district by offering a way to cushion pay cuts that range from 6.5% to 11.5% this school year. State officials said school districts throughout California contribute a fixed percentage of their salary costs to an unemployment benefit fund, which totaled $7.8 million this year. The percentage varies according to the number of district employees who receive unemployment benefits.

Los Angeles paid about $6 million, or 0.28% of its salary costs, to the fund this year. In the 1993-94 school year, the district will pay about $9.2 million, based on an expected rise in premium costs to 0.43% of the total salary budget.

MacKenzie said that the 1994-95 premium could rise as high as 1% under state regulations but that officials intend to keep it “substantially” lower. The final figure depends in part on how many employees in the Los Angeles district qualify for the benefits.

District officials moved quickly Tuesday to send information to parents of the district’s 640,000 students. The letter explains that by extending the school day, the amount of instructional time is unchanged.

Most schools will start the day at the same time and dismiss later. The day will be increased by 20 minutes for kindergarten classes, 30 minutes for first through sixth grades, and 36 minutes at junior and senior high schools.

Although the plan is expected to help cushion salary cuts, it is viewed by many teachers as a poor education decision.

“This will be really terrible for children, especially the younger ones,” said Raul Nava Jr., a third-grade teacher at Lorena Street Elementary School on the Eastside. “Another 30 minutes on the school day for elementary children is really a long period, given their attention spans, especially after lunch.”

Helen Bernstein, president of United Teachers-Los Angeles, signed an agreement that allows teachers to participate in the workshare program but said the union opposes the new calendar.

The union is threatening to strike Feb. 22 over wage, benefit and district management issues. Although negotiations have stalled in the past weeks, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown will begin mediating the dispute later this week, Quezada said Tuesday.

Brown, a skilled negotiator in the Legislature, is expected to meet with union and district representatives in separate meetings on Friday and Saturday, Quezada said.

A Shorter Semester The Los Angeles Unified School District has approved a plan that reduces the spring semester by eight days. The days off vary according to the calendar of each school and each track. Generally, spring break will be extended by six days and the school year will end two days earlier. Here are the additional non-school days:

90/30 A-Track Schools: April 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8; June 29, 30.

90/30 B-Track Schools: March 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31; June 29, 30.

90/30 C-Track Schools: April 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8; June 29, 30.

90/30 D-Track Schools: April 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8; May 12, 13.