District Scrambles for Classroom Space

The Saddleback Valley Unified School District this week declared an emergency in classroom space for the fall, which means that officials can contract immediately to lease or buy portable units without going through the often lengthy bidding process.

The sudden space crunch was precipitated by the district’s decision earlier this month to try to reduce class sizes in kindergarten and first and second grades to take advantage of a state bonus offer.

Gov. Pete Wilson is offering schools $650 a student for reducing class sizes in those grades to 20 students or less per teacher by February 1997.

“There’s a lot of excitement here,” Supt. Peter A. Hartman said. “There will be a lot of people in this community who are happy we’ve done this.”

The district hopes to lease 15 portable units by the time school starts in September. It is also applying for state grants of as much as $25,000 to buy more units in the future.

The district is exploring several other options.

Trustee Marcia L. Birch said that, despite the last-minute scramble, the state bonus for smaller classes is well worth the trouble.

“I’ve known a lot of parents over the years who have worked hard to get this,” she said. “I think we parents were finally heard.”