A group of Newhall School District parents upset the elementary school calendar doesn’t match up to the high school one plan to attend this week’s board meeting, continuing a “walk-out” threat.

The group of parents showed up at the last Newhall School District board meeting, along with several teachers, with both sides discussing the concerns and advantages of Newhall’s unique calendar separately.

Related story: Newhall School District Calendar Quandary Irks Teachers, Parents

During the meeting, several parents expressed complaints over the fact that other elementary school districts’ calendars match the Hart district’s junior high and high school calendars much more closely than Newhall’s, making child care and vacation arrangements difficult for parents with kids in both districts.

District officials explained a deference to teachers in setting the academic calendar, as the “educational and instructional experts” for the district.

Teachers who showed up to last month’s meeting explained the extra week at spring break and a week off in the fall, allows for a shorter summer, which reduces “summer learning loss,” and provides the best conditions  for students in a trimester schedule who undergo regular testing — requirements of elementary school districts.

“We have and will continue to welcome parent input,” said board President Christy Smith. “They are included on the agenda tonight for that reason. We are also seeking to broaden the conversation to include data on student learning, the economic considerations around average daily attendance funding, and the legal parameters of collective bargaining, in order to give these concerned parents a complete picture of all of the factors impacting our decision as a board.”

In response to the district’s reaction last month, the parent group is continuing their threat of pulling children out of class from Oct. 2-3.

Parents have suggested that using the “power of the purse” to force Newhall School officials to the bargaining table. School districts are funded by attendance figures, so a school would not receive money for every day a child is missing, hurting its financial bottom line.

When told of the concern, district officials warned parents there would likely also be unintended consequences, such as potential cuts to arts and music programs, if attendance, or a lack thereof has a significant impact on revenue.

“This isn’t about being insensitive to the importance of family time,” Smith said, echoing the sentiments of some of the other board members and teachers who spoke in defense of the calendar, and shared their experiences with the split schedules, as well, from their own families, at the last meeting where there was an impromptu calendar discussion. “What we are balancing though, is what teachers tell us is what’s most effective for your child’s learning,” Smith said, “so we will be weighing all those considerations.”

The districts’ calendars do not align for 26 days, compared to two different days for the Castaic Union School District (which has elementary and junior high grades at Castaic Middle School), which recently aligned with Hart; 12 different days for the Saugus Union School District and 18 days for Sulphur Springs.

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