School District Will Seek Full Funding of Class Size Program

Hoping to nudge other school systems into action, Conejo Valley trustees are poised to start a lobbying campaign seeking full funding for the state’s popular--but only partially paid for--class size reduction program.

“I think that economically, [full funding] is the only feasible solution,” said Trustee Richard Newman on Friday. “Districts like ours have expended large sums of money already. There is a limit to how much you can expend before you start hurting other students, and I think we may have come upon it.”

At their meeting Thursday, trustees are expected to adopt a strongly worded resolution asking state lawmakers to cover the cost of all teacher salaries and materials for smaller classes in kindergarten and first through third grades before offering to pay part of the tab for fourth grade.

As it now stands, the state is using a $771-million pot to reimburse school districts for every primary grade student enrolled in a class of 20 or fewer. Under the program, schools can pare classes in first and second grades and then choose to whittle either kindergarten or third grade. A $650-per-student state allotment covers part--but far from all--of the expense of new teacher salaries and materials.

The Conejo Valley resolution asks the state to cover the full $800-per-pupil price in three primary grades before adding partial funding for a fourth grade. According to estimates from county schools Supt. Charles Weis, most districts are paying between $700 and $800 per student.

“The state has not financed this program 100%--or anywhere near 100%,” Newman said. “I don’t think the public realizes that.”

If the Thousand Oaks resolution passes as expected, Supt. Jerry Gross will petition all 57 school districts in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties to follow suit. Gross also plans to meet in two weeks with Assemblyman Nao Takasugi, (R-Oxnard), to discuss financing for the program designed to give youngsters an advantage in reading and math.

Just last week, Gov. Pete Wilson proposed expanding class size reduction by setting aside $488 million in his 1997 budget. Offering $666 per student, Wilson’s proposal would allow school districts to shrink grades one through three and then choose between kindergarten and fourth grade.

Last month, Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-San Luis Obispo), who represents parts of Ventura County, introduced a separate measure that would allow school districts to achieve a similar result, offering $750 per student to expand the class size reduction program to five grade levels.

While Conejo Valley Unified School District trustees say they are more than grateful to receive state money for smaller, more manageable classes, they say neither proposal goes far enough.

“It’s great to have [existing] class sizes reduced. We love it, and it’s wonderful,” Trustee Dorothy Beaubien said. “But the more we reduce class size, the further in debt we get. . . . Unless the state approves more money to fully fund the program, we’re all in trouble--not just us, but the whole state.”

O’Connell said he supports a higher reimbursement, but that he isn’t sure $800 is the magical figure, given that the actual costs of class size reduction varies from district to district.

He also pointed out that the program was never meant to be fully funded. It was meant to be an incentive program with local districts helping to foot the bill. “It’s a voluntary program,” O’Connell said. “If Thousand Oaks doesn’t want to participate because it’s underfunded, they don’t have to.”

But school districts that continue to shrink classes in additional grades, Thousand Oaks school officials warned, face dire consequences.

To hire teachers and find space for smaller first- through third-grade classes, the Conejo Valley school district took out loans and dipped into its general fund to the tune of $3 million this year. Wilson’s and O’Connell’s proposals notwithstanding, trustees here say they are unwilling to incur another $700,000 to $800,000 in debt to whittle fourth-grade classes.

“The ramifications are bankruptcy or you don’t play the game,” Newman said. “Obviously, you don’t play the game, because you aren’t going to vote yourself into bankruptcy.”

Even though finding space for the smaller classes costs far more than hiring teachers, the Conejo Valley resolution does not request more facilities funding.

“We’re asking them to pay for as much of the program as they possibly can,” Newman said. “A dollar expended for a teacher’s salary is the same to us as a dollar expended moving a wall or buying a portable [classroom]. It all comes from the same place.”

Officials in other county school districts said they like the idea of getting more money for class size reduction. But some were less comfortable with limiting the scope of the program to receive the additional money.

“If the state of California wants to really support education, they would fully fund class size reduction so it would be done properly,” said Susan Alvarez, board president for the Oxnard Elementary School District, which is trimming classes in all of first grade and half of second grade. “That way, our children would get the most benefit without suffering other cuts in materials or books.”

The Ventura Unified School District would have no problem with receiving an $800-per-student reimbursement, but trustees would have to hold discussions before agreeing to a resolution that halts the expansion of the program, according to board member Cliff Rodriguez.

“I think we have to make sure we have all the facts to weigh the educational benefits for the kids,” Rodriguez said. “We would have to understand what is implied [by the resolution] and then from there we would try to make the best decision.”