Furloughs Save District $1.2 Million

Eight elementary schools, three junior high schools and three high schools, all belonging to the Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD), will shut down on Oct. 8. These same 14 schools will close again on Nov. 12 and Feb. 22-24.

These five furlough days will save the DJUSD $1.2 million. “[We] were very pleased that the teachers agreed to the furlough, which saved 14 teachers’ jobs,” DJUSD school board trustee Sheila Allen said.

However, Allen admits that the furlough is not without its downfalls. She cites the decrease in teachers’ salaries as one of the major arguments against the furlough.

“Of course the teachers will suffer financially,” language teacher Lili Floyd said. “We all have families and housing payments, and working less means it is harder for all of us to maintain our financial situations.”

Floyd also addressed the second problem with the furlough: the loss of instructional days for students.

“Education takes time because it is a process of repeated exposure. I’m trying hard to squeeze it all in […] so I have to squeeze a little bit more into every day,” Floyd said.

Allen explained that the school board is maintaining its expectations on student achievements, despite the loss in instructional time.

“We have not decreased the standards […] the same amount of learning has to happen in less time,” Allen said.