PLACENTIA/YORBA LINDA : School Day Extended to Satisfy State Rules

Kindergarten classes in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District will be lengthened starting next week to compensate for the time lost Wednesday when the funeral of former President Richard Nixon prompted the district to close its schools.

School officials are asking the state Board of Education to waive the minimum number of minutes of class instruction. If the waiver is granted when the state board meets on May 23, kindergarten will resume its regular schedule.

All other grade levels have accumulated enough minutes of class time, and are not affected by the canceled school day.

Although Assistant Supt. Sharon McHolland said she was confident the waiver would be granted, the district opted to lengthen the kindergarten schedule as a precautionary measure.

State law requires kindergarten students to be in school a total of 36,000 minutes in an academic year. One kindergarten school day is 200 minutes long. If the minimum number is not met, the district loses a share of its lottery proceeds as well as other state funding.

Each school affected will determine how to make up the lost 200 minutes. According to McHolland the schools have two options: to lengthen the school day by seven minutes through the rest of the year or add 40 minutes to the day for five days.

Some schools, such as Rose Drive, Brookhaven and Glenview elementary schools, have already notified parents that the school day will be lengthened by seven minutes.

Supt. James O. Fleming decided to suspend school Wednesday because several funeral-related street closures, including portions of Yorba Linda Boulevard and Imperial Highway, would have made safe bus transportation difficult.