Teachers’ Grab Is Wrong

California’s Republican governor and a key Democratic state senator sound remarkably in tune in calling for reducing public-school class sizes with money newly available for education. But the California Teachers Assn. unfortunately is interrupting this rare bit of harmony. The teachers’ association urges that the money for schools approved by voters under Proposition 98 go partly for teachers’ salaries. California teachers unquestionably still deserve higher pay, but it’s time to take advantage of this unusual convergence of political opinion to start reducing the number of students whom those teachers must teach.

By most measures California classes are bigger than those in other states. This means that students don’t get as much attention as they could--and that’s the kind of problem that voters obviously wanted addressed when they passed Proposition 98 in November. That measure guarantees schools and community colleges 39% of the state’s budget and part of any surplus. State Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), chairman of the Senate Education Committee, proposes legislation that would earmark for reducing class sizes at least half the money that the schools should receive under this proposition. Gov. George Deukmejian wants all the money to go toward reducing the ratio, now 23 students for each teacher against a national average of 18 per teacher.

While they don’t agree on the particulars, they do agree on the concept, so it might actually happen. But teachers’ association president Ed Foglia vows to fight to have the money included in the pool that school districts have available for collective bargaining--that is, for teacher salaries. That’s just not smart right now.

Hart’s proposal would let California schools hire about 2,000 more teachers. That’s not enough to alter the ratio between students and teachers appreciably, but, as he correctly says, “it’s a start.” Teachers should help themselves--and their students--by working with Hart, not opposing him.

HEAD Buckle Up