Deukmejian Cites Cutting Class Size as Prop. 98 Goal

Signaling his intent to play a leading role in implementing Proposition 98, the school funding initiative, Gov. George Deukmejian said Saturday that new money going to schools should be used to ease overcrowding in classrooms.

Deukmejian, who opposed Proposition 98, said in his weekly radio address that he will “faithfully implement” the measure. And he said reducing class sizes will be his “first priority.”

California currently ranks last among the 50 states in average class size, according to the National Education Assn. There are an average of about 27 students for each teacher in both elementary and high school grades, but the averages can be misleading. The state Department of Education says that more than half of all high school students are in classes of 31 or more.

Deukmejian in recent years has vetoed legislation to lower the ratio of teachers to students, but he said Saturday that his opposition to various class size reduction plans stemmed from a lack of money. Two years ago, the estimated cost of reducing the first grade only from 28 students to 22 was $120 million.

Objective of Initiative

Provisions of Proposition 98--drafted by teachers and administrators to give schools a greater share of the state budget--require that at least $215 million in additional financial support be put into kindergarten through high school and community college programs this fiscal year. The ballot measure, approved by a razor-thin margin, requires that at least 39% of the state’s general fund budget be spent on public elementary and high schools, as well as community colleges. That compares to about 37% now spent for those services.

Among its provisions, Proposition 98 says funds should be spent to reduce class size, setting a target goal of having not more than 20 students per teacher. But the initiative also says funds should be spent to purchase additional instructional materials, like textbooks and computers; boost teacher salaries, and provide staff development services to provide additional training to teachers and administrators. The initiative does not specify how to allocate the money.

Deukmejian said: “Those who are truly interested in living by both the letter and the spirit of Proposition 98 will join me in ensuring that any additional resources directly benefit the students through such means as reducing class size, rather than simply spending the money on more bureaucracy.”

State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig, one of the sponsors of Proposition 98, welcomed Deukmejian’s comments, but said he wants to see details of the governor’s plan before committing his support.

One Important Area

“Obviously, class size is one important area that we should invest this money. But I’d like to see his plan. If you are talking about just reducing class size by one student, I don’t see how that is going to improve things very much,” Honig said.

Although he said he is in “general agreement” with Deukmejian about class size, Honig also said there are other needs. He cited the need to provide students with more modern textbooks and provide professional development programs for teachers in areas such as mathematics, science and literature so that they are up-to-date in their fields.

A spokeswoman for Deukmejian said the governor will not release details of his plan for spending Proposition 98 money until he has completed next year’s state budget. Deukmejian plans to spend much of the month working on the budget, which he will present to the Legislature in January.