District OKs Plan to Reduce Class Sizes

Hoping to gain about $2.3 million in state grants, Tustin Unified School District has approved a plan to decrease class sizes by fall to a 20-to-1 student-teacher ratio in the first three grades.

Some parents criticized the proposal, saying that it could result in as many as 40 students being assigned to a particular classroom with two teachers.

But Board of Education members described the plan as a “Band-Aid” approach to take advantage of the state funds while the district finds long-term solutions, such as reopening closed school sites, adding portable classrooms or converting to a year-round schedule.

“This shouldn’t be looked at as a permanent solution,” Board President Jane Bauer said, noting that the district does not have enough spare facilities to accommodate 20 students in each classroom.

Under the plan, approved unanimously Monday, individual schools would have some discretion in achieving the desired student-teacher ratio.

The teachers could stagger the students’ schedules, officials said, or divide into teaching teams: two teachers responsible for as many as 40 students in one classroom, or three teachers responsible for as many as 60 students in two classrooms.

“They’re trying to find a lot of different options,” district spokesman Mark Eliot said. “For example, 20 might be at the library or computer lab while the other 20 are in the classroom. No one wants to just cram 40 kids into one room.”

The district’s average class size is 32 students. Officials anticipate hiring 64 additional teachers for grades one through three next year and spending about $104,000 from the district’s general fund to cover extra costs.

A state bill passed earlier this month offers schools $650 per pupil to reduce class sizes by Feb. 16. Tustin’s share of the $971-million pot would be about $2.3 million, officials said.