Local schools hit the jackpot by improving their test scores

LGHS tops at $90,610

By Rebecca Ray

Paying for an education has taken on a new meaning in California. The state Department of Education recently awarded money for high test scores and some local schools cashed in.

The state is giving schools in the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, the Los Gatos Union School District and the Saratoga Union School District money for receiving high academic performance index (API) scores, which are based on students' performance on the SAT9. The SAT9 tests second- through 12th-graders in reading, math, language and spelling.

"It's a bittersweet award," said Saratoga Union School District Superintendent Mary Gardner. "I think there are a lot of things I'd rather be recognized for than growth on a standardized test." On the other hand, the district needs the money, Gardner said.

Los Gatos High School is receiving $90,610, the largest amount among the schools in the local districts. Lexington Elementary School is receiving $9,941, the smallest amount. In 1999, the first year the SAT9 was administered, each school in the three districts received an API score of at least 800. To qualify for state API money, the schools had to increase their scores by at least one point in 2000. Every school in the three districts except Redwood Middle School, which received an API score of 927 both years, qualified for the funds. Schools that did not receive scores of at least 800 in 1999 had to increase their scores by five percent in 2000 to get API money.

Under Senate Bill 1X that was passed in 1999, schools that qualified receive Governor's Performance Awards funds for schoolwide use. This year, Gov. Gray Davis allocated $227 million--or $63 per student--to the schools in California that qualified.

"I'm very pleased that the performance of our children is so good that they scored high on that test, and that that generates money," said Mary Ann Park, superintendent of Los Gatos Union School District. "This may allow us to do some of those extensions [of programs] that we didn't have funding for, but now we do."

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Award Money: A breakdown of the amount of money awarded to local schools.

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The school site councils will develop proposals on how to use the funds and seek approval from the district boards of supervisors. Council members are planning on how to spend the money and asking faculty for suggestions. The councils hope to finalize their ideas in the next couple of months.

Teachers at Saratoga Elementary School are writing a wish list based on their needs on that include staff development, course materials and parent education classes. Teachers will prioritize the needs before recommending some of them to the site council, Saratoga Elementary School Principal Marybarbara Zorio said.

At Van Meter Elementary School in Los Gatos, site council members are discussing spending the money on technology reading programs, Principal Rosanne Adona said.

The amount of money given to each school is determined by a formula that includes enrollment information and student exemptions. Of the three districts, API score increases ranged from the Los Gatos Union School District's Lexington Elementary's one point increase to 842, to Los Gatos High School's 53-point gain from 801 to 854. Argonaut and Foothill elementary schools in the Saratoga Union School District tied for the highest score at 937.

The schools that receive funds will also receive a total of $350 million in school site employee performance bonus funds in late March or early April. These funds will be divided equally between full-time staff and for unrestricted purposes. The department will announce how much each school will receive in late March. The school site employee performance bonus funds, which were authorized by Senate Bill 1667, will only be awarded this year.

"There are a lot of things that we need and that can make instruction and learning better for children," Zorio said. "This is something that we wouldn't be able to afford any other way, so we really want to make it count."

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