Lindbergh Switches to Four Day Week for the Summer

Once again budget cuts will shut Lindbergh’s doors on Fridays throughout the summer holiday. From June 6 to August 7 most of the district will operate on a four day work week. Only the Early Childhood department will continue its normal operating hours through the summer months.

“Early Childhood doesn’t change its schedule because parents depend on that,” said Director of Community Relations Beth Cross. The Early Childhood department also runs a fun “camp” program for students from kindergarten to fifth grade for working families who need extended child care.

Many school district employees do not take a long summer break with the students. Every principal, many secretaries and the technology department work through the summer. This is also a busy season for the school maintenance department, which takes on large cleaning and improvement projects over the summer when students are not underfoot.

To make up for short work week the staff are putting in 10 hour days and work from 7pm to 5pm.

The four day work schedule was first used in 2010 and saved the district approximately $60,000 according to Cross. Cross said the 2010 budget was reduced by $4.7 million dollars, which forced the district to cut staff and look at every possible way to save money. She said that closing district buildings on Fridays saved on utility costs and fuel expenses from the maintenance department vehicles.

“Most of the employees really like it,” said Cross. “We all enjoy having an extra day to run errands and have time with our families.”

The district’s summer school programs will also follow the four day schedule.

“Each class meets one hour and fifteen minutes,” said Activity Office Director Bill Hopkins of the Summer Enrichment program. “After looking at several possibilities we decided to increase our classes by fifteen minutes. By doing this we can offer the same amount of class time in four days that we formally offered in five days.”

The Summer Enrichment program is Lindbergh’s optional fee-based summer school where students can take fun classes like archery, kick ball or kitchen chemistry.

Lindbergh High School's academic summer school program will also have longer five and a half hour day due to the Friday closures. Before the budget cuts students had four hour days, but attended summer school five days a week. Cross said the additional time in class is needed to meet state requirements for high school credit.

The elementary summer school, held at Kennerly Elementary from June 27 to July 21 will have a shorter session according to Cross. There is no summer classes for middle school students due to budget cuts and construction. Sperreng Middle School is under renovation and Truman Elementary is being converted into a new middle school this summer, thanks to the passage of Proposition R in 2008. Prop R is a $31 million dollar bond issue that is paying for building upgrades that will relieve the district’s overcrowding problems.

Lindbergh will return to its normal five day a week schedule when class resumes in the fall.

“This type of schedule would work from a financial standpoint during the school year, however, it would not be educationally sound,” said school board president Dr. Vic Lenz. “Students would not do well on an extended school day. Currently the student day is seven hours, if we went to a four day week the students would be in school for almost nine hours each day.”