Board Seeks Strategy to Cut Class Size

School board members have begun wrestling with ways to trim the size of kindergarten through third-grade classes to 20 students per room despite a critical shortage of classroom space and teachers.

During a budget planning session Thursday, board members discussed various methods of reducing the size of classes for Simi Valley Unified’s primary schools to take advantage of Gov. Pete Wilson’s educational reform grant program, which rewards school districts that achieve a 20-1 student-to-teacher ratio.

“I will have smaller class sizes even if we have to split schools,” said board member Diane Collins, who proposed converting one or more of the district’s three junior high schools, now attended by seventh- through ninth-grade students, to middle schools that would also accommodate sixth-graders.

Collins believes that shifting sixth-grade students out of the elementary schools would open needed classroom space to reduce class size in primary grades.

Some board members, though enthusiastic about the program’s goal of reducing class sizes, have reservations about how the program would work in Simi Valley.

“I do think it’s an investment to have smaller class sizes, but the state isn’t picking up the whole tab,” board member Norman Walker said.

Under the Wilson program, the state will give $650 for each primary school student to districts that reduce their kindergarten through third-grade classes to 20 pupils. Such districts, however, would also be expected to contribute an additional $125 per student to help fund the program’s cost.

Simi Valley officials said the district would have to ante up $495,650 to pay for its portion of the class-reduction plan.

“This program is massive, the largest single appropriation for California educational reform ever, but if you read the data, it’s probably a perceived need more than a real need,” Walker said.

Board members considered several proposals to increase the number of available classrooms. The proposals included using school libraries for classes, conducting classes in excess space at local businesses and converting a vacant office building in Wood Ranch into two classrooms.

The board also looked at reopening the district’s Arroyo and Belwood schools, which have been closed for years and would require extensive renovation.

A lack of classroom space may be the largest barrier to reducing class sizes. According to Robert Purvis, interim district superintendent, some elementary schools, such as Abraham Lincoln, Park View and Madera, have no empty classrooms.

The problem is complicated by a sudden shortage of portable trailers that are used as temporary classrooms at many schools. The shortage has been compounded by the additional demand for trailers created by the $771-million educational reform grant, as school districts throughout California scramble to create more classrooms.

Another problem the district faces is where to find enough certified instructors to teach the additional classes.

“If we were able to implement the program in all three grades, it would be like opening three new elementary schools,” said Purvis, adding that up to 20 additional classrooms would have to be created.

One suggestion that received a lukewarm response involved hiring people who have not earned teaching certificates for instructor positions.

“Going out to hire somebody with just a bachelor’s degree is probably a bad idea,” said Collins, adding: “We’re not the highest-paying district, and certificated teachers . . . can go almost anywhere in Southern California.”

The board’s suggestions will be forwarded to a special task force consisting of school principals, teachers and other educators, parents and members of the business community.

Recommendations from the task force, to be coordinated by Karen Dubrule, elementary education director for the district, will be considered at the board’s next meeting on Aug. 13.