OXNARD : Funds Sought to Shrink Class Sizes

Oxnard Union High School District officials, seeking to decrease the size of English classes for ninth-grade students, will apply for state funding from a special program to reduce class sizes.

The board of trustees voted Wednesday to apply for the funding, which would be used to decrease the student-teacher ratio to 20 to 1, beginning next semester.

Assistant Supt. Gary Davis said the district decided to implement the program at the ninth-grade level at its six schools because English at that level is mandatory for all students, and thus the program would benefit the greatest number of students.

Also, teachers in some other subject areas for which funding is available, including math and science, are in short supply compared with English teachers.

District officials said they hope that the program will have other benefits. “If students have success at the ninth-grade level, they may be less likely to drop out,” Davis said. The board of the Ventura Unified School District also voted this week to apply for the program.