Photograph by Robert Scheer
Pat DeMarlo, CUSD director of human resources, explains staffing changes that would be needed to reduce class sizes.
By LESTER CHANG
Several options for reducing class sizes--including instituting year-round schooling--were presented at a Cupertino Union School District board meeting Sept. 10.
Fearing the district might be left behind, some parents urged trustees at the meeting to expedite plans to secure state funds earmarked this year for class-size reduction.
Some parents complained that other districts may have already developed plans, thus enabling them to apply earlier for funds to hire teachers at a time when an acute teacher shortage exists.
"I urge the board and the district to fight harder for funding equity with other districts," said Sunnyvale resident Steven Scandalis at the meeting, held at Stocklmeir Elementary School.
Four Sunnyvale schools belong to CUSD: Stocklmeir, West Valley and Nimitz elementary schools and Cupertino Junior High School.
The plan behind the state funding is to improve student performance--particularly in reading--in first- and second-grade classrooms throughout California.
The plan came into being through legislation signed by Gov. Pete Wilson July 15.
Superintendent Patricia Lamson and her staff said they welcomed suggestions on ways to reduce class sizes from the 200 or so parents who attended the meeting.
Options include instituting year-around classes, purchasing portable classrooms and making use of six school sites currently leased to businesses because of lack of enrollment.
Lamson said her administration wants to move cautiously because the legislation that set up the state program will not provide enough funds to cover the salaries of teachers or the cost of their training.
The state funds--$711 million-- also can't be used to construct buildings or to buy school materials, district officials said.
Lamson is scheduled to make a recommendation concerning class-size reduction to the board on Oct. 8. The board is expected to vote on her recommendation Oct. 22.
As with other districts, Cupertino can apply for $650 per student in a full-day program or $323 per student in a half-day program.
The district is looking to start the program in its first-grade classes in the current school year, and teachers who are properly trained will be put in classes before Feb. 16, the state deadline for starting a program, Lamson said.
The district chose the first-graders for the program because they will go through comprehensive reading programs and would benefit the most from smaller classes, officials said.
Under the legislation, school districts in California can apply for funding to reach a 20-to-1 student-teacher ratio.
The Cupertino school district has a ratio of 30-to-1, while other districts' ratios vary.
A major concern for the Cupertino district is to limit the use of district funds for the new program, Lamson said. The district would rather use the funds to cover current operations.
Should the program be implemented in the first grade, the district would have to use an additional $540,000 from its general fund to pay for it, said Dr. Robyn Phillips, who heads the business department.
More money would be used in the upper grades.
One audience member said the district should spend whatever is necessary to ensure the success of the class-reduction program.
Board president Debbie Byron said the district has made sacrifices in the past to ensure that the quality of education remains high in Cupertino, which has won national and state academic awards.
"The fact that we have the caliber of education we do in this community is because we have sacrificed and made a lot of hard decisions about what is important for kids," she said, "and all of you parents have worked with us on that."
Byron added that she was equally determined to overcome obstacles in implementing the state program.
To questions about whether the district should be making cuts to accommodate the new program, Lamson said cuts could be made but noted there "isn't a lot of fat" in the district's $61.8 million budget approved earlier this year.
Most of the budget is set aside to cover salaries and benefits for the district's 1,200 employees, she said.
To questions about future funding for the program, Lamson noted that there "is no guarantee." She said she anticipates funding, but added that continued funding for the program "depends on the health of the economy."
District officials gave five options for implementing the program:
* Reopening 97 classrooms at six schools that are currently leased to businesses. The drawback is that the district would lose $1.4 million in revenues and would not have space to accommodate future growth. The district currently has about 15,000 students but has seen about 400 new students come into the district each year recently;
* Creating additional classrooms by shutting down preschool classes at 19 elementary schools;
* Making the most of existing classrooms;
* Having a year-around school schedule; and
* Buying portable classrooms at $97,000 each. Purchasing them might be difficult because other districts trying to reduce class size may also be in the market, officials said.
In other matters, the district plans to hire 43 new teachers and train them in reading, language arts, math, technology and management of students.
To be eligible for funding for the state program, districts must apply by Nov. 1.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, September 18, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.