Somebody Forgot to Do the Math

School's out for summer -- except for hundreds of children in western San Bernardino County who, because of an administrative snafu, must make up 34 days of school this summer.

Schools typically have one shortened day per week, allowing teachers to use the remaining time for planning and parent conferences. Under state law, these days must be at least 180 minutes, and the daily average classroom time over 10 consecutive days must be 240 minutes.

An internal audit in early May discovered that 34 minimum days had been 175 minutes at Dickson and 170 at Rolling Ridge, said district spokeswoman Julie Gobin. That adds up to a shortage of 170 and 340 minutes, respectively, which could be made up in one or two school days. But under state law, these too-short days do not count at all, meaning that all 34 must be made up to avoid a state penalty of more than $7 million.

This is asinine. The kids cannot make up the lost 6 hours (maximum) in a couple of days - rather, because 34 days had a deficit of 5 to 10 minutes, it becomes a complete "do over," otherwise the school district has a penalty of $7 million.

On the other hand . . . I'm sure there are parents happy for the free summer day care. However, someone there is a 10-year-old who will never get a chance to do over a month of summer vacation. And for a kid, that's a lot.

An associate superintendent at the district, who is retiring this year, has taken responsibility for the errors.