Pacoima : Proposal Calls for 17 Extra School Days

Students at a Pacoima charter school will have an additional 17 days of school next year under a proposal received by the Los Angeles Board of Education on Monday.

Vaughn Next Century Learning Center will increase its year-round schedule to 200 days of instruction in the 1995-96 school year, said Director of Student Affairs Stanley Stern.

“We felt the kids were not in school enough,” he said.

The board will vote on the proposal Aug. 21, but Stern explained that the Los Angeles Unified School District has already said it will only fund Vaughn for 183 days of instruction--the district average.

“We’ll make up the difference by our own savings,” he said. He added that the additional school days will be used for specialized programs in science, reading, writing and the arts.

Under state law, charter schools are given free reign in hiring, budgets, schedules and salaries, but any changes to the instructional calendar must be approved by the school board. “This is kind of a standard request,” said Patrick Spencer, a spokesman for the school district. “It’ll probably be passed without much discussion.”