By accepting a $2 million federal stimulus grant, the school
district will eliminate teacher furloughs and restore one
instructional day to the current school year.
By accepting a $2 million federal stimulus grant, the school district will eliminate teacher furloughs and restore one instructional day to the current school year.
Though the decision only adds one school day, it will extend the school calendar by one week, with the last day of school falling June 10 instead of June 3.
Families making travel plans should keep in mind the new end date, school officials said.
Under the new calendar, students will have Jan. 3 and 4, Feb. 18 and April 1 off.
Earlier this year, the Gilroy Teachers Association agreed to give up four work days – one of the 180 student instructional days and three staff development days – in an effort to help the Gilroy Unified School District close a multimillion dollar budget gap. The four days teachers gave up were worth about $1 million and equated to a 2 percent salary cut, Superintendent Deborah Flores said.
Using one-time money granted under the federal Education Jobs Act, GUSD will eliminate the four furlough days, Flores said. Signed into law Aug. 10 by President Barack Obama, the act awarded $1.2 billion to California schools.
Now that teacher salaries have been restored, trustees will consider what to do with the remainder of the grant – about $1 million – at the Oct. 21 board meeting.
