School District Adds 104 New Teachers

The Oxnard School District, responding to class-size reduction and increased enrollment this fall, hired the largest group of new teachers in more than two decades, administrators said.

About 70% of the 104 teachers hired for kindergarten through eighth-grade classes appeared at an introduction ceremony before district trustees Wednesday night at Christa McAuliffe School.

The support for the teachers from the board members, principal and the teachers themselves was gratifying, Supt. Bernard Korenstein said. “It leads me to believe we’re going to have a good year, even while working through the class-size reduction,” he said.

Forty-five of the new teachers were hired after Oxnard reduced the size of all its first-grade classes. The district has been working on lowering some classes to 20 students since Gov. Pete Wilson announced state incentives in July.

Most of the rest of the teachers were needed to accommodate increased enrollment, which rose 600 students from last year’s 13,700. A small portion of the new hires will replace teachers who retired last year.