Oakland Unified’s budget estimate shows it will cost an additional $13 million per year to expand career academy programs throughout the district. The estimate includes costs of rejiggering the school schedule to allow for eight periods, up from six; creating an associated summer school program; expanding support services for students; and hiring and training staff, among other costs. The programs aren’t cheap, especially in the start-up phase, according to a 2010 report Stern co-authored for the non-partisan research group Policy Analysis for California Education. Programs that use linked learning cost, on average, about $1,500 more per student than traditional high school programs, the report said. Among start-up programs, the cost is closer to $1,899 per student because of additional demands on teacher time, among other factors, as the programs get ramped up.