By Anne Gelhaus
To qualify for a share of $771 million in state funds, the Saratoga Union School District will reduce its first-grade class sizes to 20 students per teacher this fall.
This action allows the district to collect $650 per first-grader through an initiative in the 1996-97 state budget designed to reward schools that decrease class sizes in grades K-3. While the district's board of trustees voted Aug. 13 to reduce first-grade class sizes to meet the criteria for this additional funding, the board also agreed to hold off on any decisions regarding similar reductions for the other three grade levels.
"We're going into the planning phase for kindergarten and grades 2 and 3," Superintendent Mary Gardner said after last week's board meeting. "We felt like we needed parents and teachers more involved because it's going to mean major program shifts."
Currently, district class sizes in grades K-3 are about 25 or 26 students per teacher. If the district were to reduce that ratio to 20-to-1 at all four grade levels, Gardner said, it would result in a facilities crunch, and schools would be hard-pressed to maintain existing science and kindergarten programs.
Ironically, Gardner said the district's Center program would also be disrupted by further reductions in class size. Under this program, the student-teacher ratio during reading period has been reduced to 12-to-1.
Gardner said the district must determine whether decreasing class sizes across the board in grades K-3 would be more beneficial than keeping existing programs intact.
For Saratoga schools, Gardner added, the main motivation behind paring down class sizes is to allow for more one-to-one contact between teachers and students. She said the state monies the district is due to receive won't necessarily cover the costs involved.
"I don't think it will be a financial boon," she added, "but we may be able to break even."
Classes in the Saratoga Union School District begin Sept. 3. Gardner said the district is in the process of hiring additional first-grade teachers to allow for smaller class sizes.
"We still have some interviews to do and some tough decisions to make regarding facilities," she added. "We're making sure to protect programs for the other grades."
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, August 21, 1996.
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