For kids, it’s like Christmas vacation came early. For teachers, it’s a salary cut. For parents, it raises that nagging question, “Who is going to watch over the kids when there is no school?” Starting today, schools across the San Jose Unified School District will be closed for the entire week. Teachers, administrators, and support staff will all be taking a five-day furlough.

The school district decided on an across-the-board furlough in lieu of teacher layoffs. The five-day furlough is expected to save the district as much as $5 million dollars. Unlike the San Francisco Unified School District however, which also decided on five-day furlough spread out across the school year, the local school board decided that it was better to take all five days together and get it over with.

Some parents are saying that the burden falls on them. Since most of them work, they will have to find ways to keep their kids busy during this “vacation.” For some it means missing work. For others it means paying for babysitters or parceling the kids out to family and friends.

Schools could have avoided the furlougs because of federal grant money that the district is receiving as part of the jobs creation bill. They have decided to go ahead with it anyways. The state still hasn’t approved its budget, they say, which means that schools could face even more cuts, this year. And then there is next year, with even more cuts in store for them.  After considering the options, they’ve decided that it’s best to hold on to the money while they can.
Read More at ABC 7.