Search OKd for Up to 80 New Teachers

Anticipating a statewide rush to hire new teachers based on the governor’s ambitious plan to reduce class size, Conejo Valley school trustees Tuesday authorized the district to begin searching for as many as 80 new instructors immediately.

Although the governor has yet to sign the new budget--already approved by the Legislature--trustees said they believed they had to act quickly.

“It seems that this is going to pass,” trustee Richard Newman said. “If other people do this, the market for teachers will be much more competitive. And we intend to do whatever we can to provide the students with the best class ratio we can.”

The budget, which Gov. Pete Wilson is expected to sign soon, includes $771 million to help lower class size to 20 students per teacher in kindergarten through third grades.

The state estimates it will cost about $775 per student to reach the 20-students-per-classroom goal. If approved, the state would give schools $650 per student, leaving local school districts to fund the rest.

Although money will be available for the kindergarten through third-grade level, Conejo trustees decided to target the first through third grades.

To reduce the teacher-student ratio districtwide for all three grades, the district would need to hire about 80 new teachers and come up with about $600,000 of its own money, according to a staff report.

Other factors, such as the size of this district’s elementary schools, may prevent the district from fully implementing the program, Newman said.

“We’re not sure we can do this 100%,” he said. “Because we are not sure if all the schools could do it by September.”

District staff members this month begin discussions with principals to determine which schools could be ready for new teachers by fall, Newman said.