The Willow Glen Resident

Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Desk Set: Kathy Argabright (left) and Nancy Fitzgerald, second-grade teachers at Schallenberger, prepare for the new school year. Traditionally, about 6 percent of all San Jose Unified students are absent on the first day of classes.

Traditional first-day absences mean a bigger loss of funding for SJUSD

Willow Glen schools could lose $100 for each student no-show

By John Pancharian

Though it may seem obvious that the first day of school is when all the students return to class, unfortunately for Willow Glen schools, this isn't always the case. And this year, if first-day attendance sagged as it traditionally does, it took a bigger-than-usual bite out of school funding.

Several factors have combined this year to set up San Jose Unified schools to start the year with a big financial blow. First, legislation effective July 1 eliminated the excused absence for funding purposes, which means even if little Suzy's parents want her to be in Lake Tahoe with them, the school still loses money. And Suzy is more likely to be in Tahoe this year because the school term started Sept. 1, a full week earlier than the normal post-Labor Day start. Lastly, all those absent students will cost the district as much as $100 each because of the way pre-term teacher-prep days are accounted.

California schools receive state funding based on their daily attendance figures; since students don't attend classes on teacher-prep days, schools receive credit for these days based on the number of students who show up on the next regular school day. Under Gov. Pete Wilson's plan to lengthen the school year, teachers had more pre-term in-service days than in years past, and so schools stand to collect about three times as much per student on the first day of classes as they normally would.

Or, in the case of districts such as San Jose Unified, they could lose a bundle if first-day attendance is as low as it traditionally has been. According to district spokeswoman Maureen Munroe, about 6 percent of the student body is usually absent when the schools open their doors to begin a new year. For the 1996-97 year, the district had 1,912 students absent on the first day of class.

"At $100 per student, that's a chunk of change," Munroe said.

And the difficulties may not stop there. In grades K-3, every California school must maintain a 20-to-1 student-teacher ratio per class in order to receive additional state funds. Munroe said students who enroll late and just happen to be No. 21 on the roll sheet may require schools to reorganize classes later to meet the ratio requirements. With such shuffling going on, students' STAR test results take longer to reach teachers, who must deal with a shifting class full of students whose abilities teachers must assess without the benefit of test results.

"I think looking at it experientially, parents are most concerned when kids miss days with content. Parents are not necessarily aware of the content of the first day, when kids are meeting teachers and the school is arranging their attendance records," Munroe said.

Willow Glen Elementary School principal Anita Sunseri was a little more optimistic. She said the school sent out letters to parents Aug. 24, reminding them to have students in class on the first day. She said class lists, posted Aug. 28, included a reminder, and school staff mentioned first-day attendance in all their phone conversations with parents.

"We'll just have to see and make adjustments as we go," she said, adding that she thinks Willow Glen Elementary can accommodate late arrivals with a minimum of class mixing.

Willow Glen first-grade teacher Mike Broxmeyer said the first day is an important adjustment time for new students, especially those moving from kindergarten to regular classes. He said he spends the first week with his class just acquainting inexperienced students with the campus and classroom procedures.

Broxmeyer said that depending on the individual, teachers have spent anywhere from three days to several weeks before school begins preparing their classrooms for students. Even though teachers are now compensated for a few more in-service days, many still spend numerous unpaid hours getting ready for the coming year.

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