Orange County Voices : COMMENTARY ON PUBLIC EDUCATION : Gifted or Average, Students Are Hurt by Schools’ Lack of Funds : With state support remaining level while costs keep rising, O.C. boards of education face painful choices.

Genius dies every day in the primary grades all over California--and that disaster will continue until we revise our priorities. The needs are many; the choices will not be easy.

It will not come as a surprise that one of the choices involves money.

The recently adopted state budget for 1995 is the fourth consecutive year that schools are given the same dollars per student--about $4,200--when the cost of doing business, according to a national, state and local price index, has risen by more than 10%. California is already among the lowest cost-per-student states in the nation. To stay even, that expenditure should be at least $4,620!

In perspective, one of the highest dollars-per-student states is New Jersey, spending in excess of $10,000. Their lowest-spending district is about $7,000, and those school districts are going to court to seek equality. Orange County school board members would commit mayhem (almost) for New Jersey’s lowest amount per student!

With less “purchasing power,” boards of education have few choices. Among their options are dropping elective classes including art, music and drama, eliminating administrative and nursing services, adding to counselor loads and, finally, increasing class size.

The risk of being lost in the crowded classroom, or deprived of the arts, starves genius every day. California has virtually the highest ratio of students per teacher in the nation. Biggest losers in the students-per-teacher numbers game are the less intellectually blessed children--the ones most likely to slip through the cracks in classrooms of even the most motivated teachers.

Overcrowded classrooms mean less time per student. And imagine for a moment the physical and intellectual challenge of teaching 35 or 40 sophomore English students five periods each day, then carrying home 180 “themes.” Yes, they still do that, but not nearly as often. And ask yourself what you do with your evenings. . . .

Since “A Nation at Risk” more than a decade ago, public education in California and across the nation has lived on a slide in the microscope, with its every move magnified to the 100th power.

Despite less buying power and larger classes, what have Orange County schools accomplished?

Dropout rates have plummeted to among the lowest anywhere; more students are graduating. Half of our graduating students are taking the SATs, achieving scores well above national and state averages; hundreds are enrolling in advanced placement classes and earning college credit, again well above national and state averages.

College-bound students in Orange County are well prepared, but how do those fare who are headed for employment when they complete high school? Better than a few years ago. VITAL LINK, one of four projects in the nation supported by the American Business Conference in Washington, is beginning to fill a void between schools and the workplace.

Participating schools are preparing students for that next step through career counseling, elective classes and direct communication between local business and industry. At this time, hundreds of high school students are involved, with Anaheim’s first VITAL LINK graduating class in June sending more than 100 better-prepared students into the world of work.

Our county’s Business Education Roundtable (CEOs and superintendents) meets regularly for mutual understanding, knowing we need each other for a prosperous future. Literally hundreds of our business and community leaders also expand their knowledge and experience when they participate annually as Principals for a Day.

Given the critical financial picture, your schools are accomplishing much more than the media have room to report. Those who know our schools better than anyone--parents with children in school--rank Orange County schools best in California, with a strong majority awarding A and B grades!

If Orange County schools are doing so well, what is the crisis? For openers, try too many students per class, outdated textbooks, limited or no school library services, virtual elimination of art, music, and drama classes or opportunities, and 600 to 800 students per counselor in schools that haven’t been painted or maintained properly for years.

Despite the challenges surrounding our society today, the teachers are doing a good job, of educating our children and grandchildren, and they deserve our support.