Piner-Olivet district restores 5 school days

Piner-Olivet School District is adding back five classroom days to the current school year as a result of the successful passage of Proposition 30.

The district also eliminated five planned furlough days for the 2013-14 school year. Piner-Olivet serves about 1,500 students in five schools west of Santa Rosa.

The district board of trustees approved the reinstatements Wednesday night. The reinstated days for the current school year are June 3-7.

Proposition 30 temporarily increases the state sales tax by a quarter-cent and income taxes on the wealthy by 1 to 3 percent, preventing what state officials said would have been $4.8 billion in cuts to K-12 education in the current school year.

Area school districts were directed to build their school year budgets on the assumption that the measure would fail. Its passage has allowed them to reinstate days they had cut. Over the long term, Proposition 30 maintains current levels of funding.

Santa Rosa City Schools, Sonoma County's largest school district, voted last month to reinstate three school days this spring: March 29, April 1 and April 29. Two classroom days and one teacher work day at the start of the school year in August were cut.

Staff Writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blogat extracredit.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. She can be reached at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@press democrat.com.