蜜桃影视

What鈥檚 the value of one day of school? While the learning and development that happen for each child may be priceless, at least one California district has put a monetary value on it.

Manhattan Beach Unified School District, in Los Angeles鈥檚 tony South Bay, asks parents to make a $47 donation each time a student misses a day of school.

California schools get state money based on average daily attendance, so the reasoning is that if families can afford to take kids out of class for vacations, they can afford to help the district make up the lost cash. of affluent Manhattan Beach鈥檚 6,647 students qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch.

The request for donations is part of the district鈥檚 for reporting absences, which helpfully provides a link to pay online and directions for paying by check.

It doesn鈥檛 indicate if parents should pay when their kids are out sick, though some schools鈥� clarify that a donation is recommended only for 鈥渧acations, social purposes or reason other than illness.鈥�

Manhattan Beach Superintendent Mike Matthews said the district has included the request on and off for the past few years, but it doesn鈥檛 badger parents to pay.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the pressure鈥檚 that strong鈥� to make a payment, he said, noting that only about 1 percent of absences have resulted in a donation this year. He said the idea came from a parent after California changed its funding formula in 2013 to ding schools even for excused absences.

Some school websites include this video explaining the funding formula and the donation request:

Asked if he鈥檚 concerned about the money lost because of student absences, Matthews said it鈥檚 just 鈥渢he cost of doing business鈥� for a school district. The daily attendance rate in Manhattan Beach is around 98 percent, he added. But the district still loses about $1 million a year for student absences.

California is one of a handful of states that fund schools based on daily attendance rather than total enrollment, and other 听 have also experimented with the strategy. Districts can use their discretion, a spokesperson for the state Education Department told 蜜桃影视 in an email.

The tactic has both pros and cons, said Hedy Chang, founder and executive director of , a San Francisco-based nonprofit that seeks to advance student success by reducing chronic absenteeism, which the U.S. Department of Education has called a , with nearly 8 million K-12 students missing 15 or more days of school in 2015-16.

鈥淚 think that can have mixed results,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think you want to start with having families know what they are missing out on in learning, on achievement, so they can meet their hopes and dreams.鈥�

One Manhattan Beach mom, who asked not to be identified, said most parents she knows don鈥檛 mind the request and pay the fee.

鈥淏ecause we are in a community where parents often take their kids out of school for vacations or family events, it ends up being a significant loss to the school鈥檚 budget,鈥� she said.

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