5 Quake Makeup Days to Be Added to ’95 School Year

All Los Angeles public schools will be required to add five instructional days to their calendars next year to compensate for the week that campuses were closed after the Jan. 17 earthquake.

Los Angeles Unified School District officials said Wednesday they have received an $85-million federal grant that includes $56.3 million to pay for the expanded school time. While most schools probably will add five days to the end of the school year in June, 1995, the district and its unions still are determining how to set up next year’s calendars.

“We think it’s important that the kids who lost the five days make up the time,” said Bill Rivera, the district spokesman.

The grant will not pay for the repair of classrooms and offices, which will be covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But $20 million was approved to help schools recover costs of emergency supplies and substitute teacher salaries.

Individual schools were allowed to submit requests for the money, and most wanted to add the five school days, extend counseling services and provide emergency training for campus employees, officials said.