SANTA ANA : Intermediate Pupils Will Start School 30 Minutes Earlier

Most of Santa Ana Unified School District’s intermediate schools will start their daily sessions half an hour earlier, beginning Thursday.

The board voted unanimously last week to add about 30 minutes to the intermediate school day after an auditor’s annual review of the district suggested children were spending less time in school than they should, district spokeswoman Diane Thomas said.

Under the new plan, year-round schools will begin extended schedules starting Thursday. The three campuses on traditional calendars--McFadden, MacArthur and Willard intermediate schools--will begin the extended day schedules Jan. 3. Once the new schedules take effect, students will start their day about 8 a.m., although the exact time will vary slightly from school to school, Thomas said.

Most schools will extend each class by about five minutes to add the required minutes. Parents at McFadden and Sierra opted to add a mini-class instead, to avoid potential scheduling problems.

The board decided to add the minutes midyear, after auditors said the state educational code requires schools to offer about 50 more hours of instruction each year than the district currently provides, Thomas said.