Lacking a banner subject to hype the first-ever School Board meeting last night in Council Chambers at City Hall, the turnout was the same size the Board attracts on Irving Place, but members glowed over the greatly improved space and furnishings.
And the meeting was televised live, another precedent-breaker.
Whether or when the Board will be back at City Hall is openended. The next School Board meeting, on Tuesday, Oct. 12, will be at School District headquarters, Irving Place.
Meanwhile, some persons are rankled by the “inconvenient” differences in starting times at the five elementary schools, and others want Culver City High School’s 8:05 start to be changed.
“For the convenience of teachers and parents,” said Board member Scott Zeidman, “it makes no sense for everybody to have a different starting time by 5 or 10 minutes.”
Except for one exception. The Board agreed it was sensible for Farragut Elementary, the Middle School and the high school to start at staggered times for traffic purposes, since they share a common campus.
“But there is no reason for La Ballona and Lin Howe to have different start times,” Mr. Zeidman said. “We ought to be consistent. “This way you know when they begin, when they finish. There may be a reason we can’t be consistent, though. Maybe food service needs these differences to be able to deliver foods. I don’t know.”
As for the high school, “let me be facetious for a moment. I’ll bet 10 o’clock would be a perfect time for them to start learning. But that means school gets out at 4:30. What do you do, then, with sports and other activities?”
The Board asked District staffers to thoroughly investigate whether and why start times should be adjusted.
“I want them to interview teachers and to thoroughly review the studies that have been done,” Mr. Zeidman said. “They also should talk to the public. We will invite the public later when we have a formal discussion.
“Maybe the high school start time should be changed to 9 o’clock. That would be fine, but I want to know the rationale.”
Staffers are not expected to report back until the first of the year. However, the issue may become overshadowed by the anticipated January announcement of a new Superintendent.
If start times were changed, they would not be implemented until next September.
