Summer school is back on track in Hawaiian Gardens

Summer school, which was eliminated in Hawaiian Gardens because of state budget cuts facing the ABC Unified School District, is back on schedule for elementary students after the City Council agreed to pick up the tab.

The council voted 4 to 0 on Tuesday to spend nearly $120,000 in general funds to provide four weeks of instruction and breakfast for 640 students at the city’s four elementary schools.

“The city of Hawaiian Gardens believes in the importance of education,” Mayor Michael Gomez said in a written statement. “It was important that we find the [money] to ensure that elementary school children in our city have access to a comprehensive summer learning program.”

Parents will be notified by automated phone calls on how to enroll their children, or can call the district at (562) 926-5566.

ABC Unified, along with districts across the state, including Los Angeles Unified, eliminated summer school after learning that more state funding cuts were imminent. ABC had cut $20 million in spending in the coming school year, and learned that it would need to trim an additional $3.2 million. Parents across the state are scrambling to find summer placements for their children.

-- Seema Mehta