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Student Walkouts Cost Schools: Fresno County Districts Lose State Attendance Money.

Posted on: Friday, 31 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By Christina Vance, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Mar. 31--Student-led walkouts to protest federal immigration reform efforts have cost Fresno County schools tens of thousands of dollars in lost attendance money from the state.

Fresno Unified schools get about $30 to $33 daily for each student who attends classes, according to the district.

Roughly 700 students left classes Monday, which would have cost the district at least $21,000 if all were counted absent. About 1,000 students gathered in front of Fresno City Hall on Tuesday morning, most of them from a dozen Fresno Unified schools. The cost for Fresno student absences Tuesday may have totaled at least $30,000.

Besides lost attendance money, the district spent more than $1,300 on buses to drive students back to school Monday and more than $1,800 on busing the next day, district spokeswoman Susan Bedi said. About 50 school administrators spent their day outside in the rain Tuesday instead of doing their other duties.

Smaller districts felt a financial pinch as well. Kerman Unified spokeswoman Nellie Neri said the district gets about $27 per student per day, translating to a potential loss of $2,700 when about 100 students left Kerman schools Tuesday to march to Fresno City Hall.

Neri said students involved in the protest would get in-school detention and were being told to protest in ways that didn't involve "penalizing yourself as a student and penalizing the school system."

Earlier this week, Fresno County schools Superintendent Pete Mehas said area districts may have lost more than $100,000 because of the student walkouts.

Districts shouldn't expect the state to let them off the hook, according to a letter issued Thursday by the California Department of Education.

State schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said he'd be reluctant to grant waivers to schools that had large numbers of absences because of protests. During emergencies such as fires, floods, blocked roads, epidemics and earthquakes, the state sometimes credits schools with attendance money.

O'Connell's letter said he recognized "superintendents and principals are doing everything possible to maintain order, prevent truancy, and keep students safe."

"I know you have already shared with your students the fact that missing school not only impacts their education, it also affects school funding and unnecessarily expends precious local public safety resources," the letter said.

As districts counted their losses Thursday, they braced for the possibility of walkouts today, Cesar Chavez Day. Bedi said Fresno district officials would continue to work with Fresno police to discourage student walkouts. Cesar Chavez Day is a state holiday but not a holiday on the Fresno Unified calendar.

"We are communicating with the students to tell them they need to stay in school and continue their education," she said.

Kristina Hernandez, a student at California State University, Fresno, said an informational event was being planned for about 3:30 p.m. today at the college. It would include educational information for high school students on the immigration debate, Hernandez said.

She said the event was intentionally scheduled after high school hours so students wouldn't be tempted to cut class so they could attend the Fresno State activity.

Clovis West High School student Bianca Perez said an after-school march was planned for today from her school to the university.

"We don't want to miss more school, so we just decided to do it after," she said.

School walkouts slowed considerably Thursday, with numerous districts across Fresno County reporting no problems.

Fresno police detained 20 truant students Thursday compared to 200 on Wednesday, police spokesman Jeff Cardinale said.

An exception was at Coalinga High School, where about 100 students left their classrooms about 11:15 a.m., interim Police Chief John Gomes said. It was the first walkout at a Coalinga school this week, he said.

The students marched around town for about 90 minutes before returning to their school. Gomes said officers monitored the students to make sure they stayed safe, and the protest remained peaceful.

The reporter can be reached at cvance@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6197.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

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Source: The Fresno Bee

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