Wilson Budgets $50,000 Grants to Public Schools

Gov. Pete Wilson on Monday added to his planned education spending spree, vowing to hand every public school in the state $50,000 that can be spent on virtually anything the principal, teachers and parents can agree on--except to hire staff or give raises.

The money, totaling $387 million statewide, would go in equal sums to every K-through-12 school regardless of size or need. Although it would mean relatively little to large schools with multimillion-dollar budgets, it is expected to make a substantial difference at small campuses.

The program, announced by Wilson at William E. Kettler Elementary School in Huntington Beach, is part of the revised 1996-97 budget that Wilson will submit today. With the state’s robust economy bringing in billions more in revenue than had been anticipated last August, Wilson finds himself in the unusual role of finding creative ways to spend the large portion of it he is required under state law to devote to education.

“I bring good news today,” Wilson told a class of second-graders, who presented him with a quilt decorated with book designs.

Some educators expressed doubts about whether the one-time grants would have a major impact on struggling schools. But the money--combined with several hundred million dollars that will go specifically for books, technology and other needs--clearly will be well-received.

Wilson said the one-time grants could be used to “buy a new roof, install computers on kids’ desks or slap a new coat of paint on the walls. Investing in our schools is the most important investment we can make as a society.”

James Monahan, principal of Bell Intermediate School in Garden Grove, said the news comes as a fantastic surprise because educators have become much more used to hearing about cutbacks.

Monahan said his school is likely to use the $50,000 to update its computer lab, because its current machines are outdated and don’t have CD-ROM drives.

“It will be a wonderful boon to us,” he said. “I feel like writing [Wilson] a personal note to thank him.”

The total increase from his January budget that Wilson will propose for schools and community colleges is $1.8 billion, to be paid for out of the higher-than-expected revenue to be reported in today’s budget revision. His proposal still requires approval from the Legislature.

The state Constitution’s school funding formula requires that schools reap the benefits of fat budget years to make up for the sacrifices of lean years, and this indeed appears to be a fat year for the state of California. But the non-education part of the state budget is targeted for deep new cuts because Wilson is continuing his support of a tax cut and his earlier budget proposal had counted on as much as $3 billion in revenue and savings that are now thought to be unlikely.

The tax cut, if it passes the Legislature, would cut $6 billion out of education spending over four years.

Rather than highlight the bad news, Wilson is focusing on education in more detail than he ever has since becoming governor.

In addition to the cash grants, Wilson is proposing to reduce the average number of pupils in first- and second-grade classes from 30 to 20 and to give schools more money for reading programs, books, repairs, supplies, computers and security. On Monday, Wilson emphasized that much of the money is related directly or indirectly to efforts to improve the state’s poor record of teaching children to read.

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“What we have here is a ‘no excuses’ blueprint for getting our schools back on track to teach kids what they’ll need to know to succeed in the global marketplace,” Wilson said.

Parent Cindy Cappuccilli, whose son is in the second grade at Kettler Elementary, said many parents regard smaller class size as the key to their children’s success.

“Kids really need smaller classes to get the foundation they need,” she said. “If you talk about reducing class size by 10 students, you will see a big difference.”

Wilson said he selected Kettler Elementary as the site of his announcement because the school emphasizes phonics and reading instruction at the early grades.

Wilson administration officials said the new push on education fits with the governor’s philosophy that the role of government should be to help prevent problems by investing in preschool and child health programs. He proposed increases in both of those areas in his January budget.

The new proposals extend that philosophy into schools, by emphasizing the improvement of beginning reading and by seeking to reduce class sizes. The grant idea is consistent with Wilson’s view that most school priorities are best determined locally. His other proposals earmark money for specific purposes. One clear impact of the total spending package is to ensure that most of the money does not end up going for higher teacher salaries.

Day Higuchi, president-elect of the United Teachers-Los Angeles union, criticized the restriction against using any of the money for salaries, saying the governor should be “a little sensitive to the fact that our members have long been digging into their own pockets for classroom supplies.”

Higuchi described the idea of doling out cash grants of the same size to all schools as “a Robin Hood in reverse” that would particularly discriminate against needier urban districts, where schools are typically far larger.

“We’re really getting less per student in Los Angeles than in other areas,” Higuchi said. “It’s another suburban-urban rip-off. . . . We’re glad about the money and we certainly won’t turn it down, but it doesn’t seem right.”

Al Mijares, superintendent of the Santa Ana Unified School District, also questioned the fairness of giving $50,000 to each school, regardless of its size or needs. He said he would have preferred to see the money distributed based on the enrollment of each school.

“We’re always delighted whenever any resources are given to public schools,” he said. “For us, the grants will amount to approximately $2 million for our 44 campuses. We’re happy with that. But I hope there’s no expectations that you can make major gains with that kind of money.”

Mijares said reducing class size by 10 students also will require substantial funds, because the district already is overcrowded and in dire need of new schools. Across the state, there is a $7-billion backlog of construction needs for public schools.

“In a preliminary investigation, we discovered that if we were to reduce class sizes by five students, we’d have to build several new schools. The cost of building a school totals $7 million, so we would have a major facility problem.

“We have a tremendous desire to reduce class sizes, but the reality is that once you start talking about building new schools, you’re talking about major revenue,” Mijares said.

Despite some skepticism, the initial reaction to Wilson’s package of proposals has been positive.

“Although it would take a lot more than $50,000 to fill all of our needs, it would certainly help,” said Mayda Carnes, assistant principal at Santa Ana’s Sepulveda Elementary. “By gosh, we could put computers in the classroom.”

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Educators said the spending plans, which still must be approved by the Legislature, are problematic in some ways. The class-size reduction effort, for example, would add to the state’s $7-billion backlog of construction needs, and schools that do not have vacant classrooms would have to scramble to participate.

But the initial reaction to the package of proposals has been positive.

Senate President Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) said through a spokesman that Wilson’s spending plans look good, at least at first blush. “It’s hard to argue with,” Lockyer said. “Democrats have always fought for money for schools. It looks like we are probably on the same side.”

Many educators were stunned at the idea of receiving extra money without having to ask students to sell candy or parents to run garage sales. Administrators said they might use the grants to add air-conditioning, send teachers to school for training or hook up more computers.

Principal Donald K. Martin at Newport Beach’s Corona del Mar High School, sounded as if he already had the money spent.

“Technology and deferred maintenance,” he said, when asked what his needs are. “Fixing roofs, retrofitting science labs, fixing parking lots, heating ducts and air conditioning.”

Mike Roos, the president of LEARN, said schools participating in the reform effort would be well-positioned to use the grants effectively because they already have debated budget priorities. But the money likely will have little impact at schools that are less focused on a specific set of academic goals.

“If you hand over bonus money to schools that already have their reforms underway, that money is going to do a lot of good,” said Priscilla Wohlsetter, who heads the Center on Educational Governance at USC. “But if you have schools that are struggling . . . those schools will tend to spend money in the same way they have been spending it and they don’t get much bang for the buck.”

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The windfall would be especially sweet for the 15-student La Grange Elementary School District in Stanislaus County. La Grange’s one-man superintendent and teaching team, David Ginsberg, was incredulous at the governor’s proposal, which would amount to $3,333.33 for each of his students.

Although the money would be enough to add music and fine arts to the curriculum, Ginsberg questioned its fairness.

“Some definitely need it more than others,” Ginsberg said. “It’s great news, but I don’t know.”

Colvin reported from Los Angeles, Seo from Huntington Beach. Times education writer Amy Pyle also contributed.

* FIGHTING CRIME

Wilson proposes upgrade of police labs, computers. B4

* WISH LISTS

O.C. educators ready with needs long deferred. A18