O.C. Class-Size Reduction May Be Stalling

Fully a third of the elementary school districts in Orange County are leaning against shrinking more primary-grade classes next year, despite Gov. Pete Wilson’s call to give every public schoolchild through third grade a classroom with no more than 20 students.

Nearly another third are undecided about what they’ll do. Only nine of the 24 districts say they plan to broaden a program launched last summer to give California’s youngest schoolchildren more intensive instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic.

While raving about the benefits so far, nearly all local educators surveyed by The Times say efforts to slash class sizes in this school year have sapped their treasuries and that Wilson is not offering enough state money to expand the initiative in the next year.

The complaint is reverberating throughout the state.

On Jan. 27, trustees of the Los Angeles Unified School District voted unanimously to petition Wilson for more funding, saying it would be “unacceptable” to cut other school services for the sake of further shrinking the early primary classes. Many Orange County districts, including Irvine Unified, Tustin Unified and Cypress elementary, have fired off similar letters in recent weeks.

Newport-Mesa Unified would seem at first glance like a poster district for the governor.

Since last summer, Newport-Mesa has hired 68 new teachers and shoe-horned dozens of classrooms into packed campuses to whittle first- and second-grade classes--and parts of kindergarten--from about 30 students to no more than 20 students apiece. Freed from the chalkboard to roam their classes and work in small groups, teachers are reaching more youngsters one-on-one than ever.

But late last month, Newport-Mesa trustees took the county’s first formal vote to reject a full expansion of the 20-child-per-class program.

Last year the governor and the Legislature, hoping to boost lagging performance in basic skills, earmarked about $1 billion for an initial push to shrink classes in three of the four earliest grades. Though the program was voluntary, 95% of eligible districts statewide applied for some funds. In January, Wilson proposed adding about $300 million to cover all four levels, from kindergarten through third grade.

Aware that they could get pilloried for rebuffing the governor’s newest offer, Newport-Mesa officials point to their bottom line: Wilson is seeking to spend an extra $666 per student, though the total extra cost for teachers and supplies is estimated at $870 each. Newport-Mesa would have to muster the extra $204 per child on its own. The bill for third grade alone next year would have cost more than $580,000, not counting building costs and what the district will spend to keep this year’s expansion afloat.

“The addition of this grade would involve great sacrifice and a substantial amount of turmoil,” said Newport-Mesa Supt. Mac Bernd. “We are absolutely committed to the concept. But the way it’s currently presented, you have to do it at the expense of children at other grade levels.”

The Times’ survey of Orange County’s 24 elementary districts shows that Newport-Mesa’s public stand is echoed privately in many schools. Even among the nine districts with tentative plans to accelerate the 20-to-1 program, only one, Ocean View School District in Huntington Beach, seems ready to do what Wilson wants: full participation in each of the four earliest grades. The others are considering smaller steps.

On the whole, Orange County schools have done somewhat less in lowering class sizes than others in California. The survey, done just before a Feb. 16 deadline for schools to qualify for state funds, shows 48.4% of eligible pupils here are enrolled in classes with 20 or fewer students. In December, the statewide average was 51.8%.

But most educators here are catching their breath after a months-long hiring and building frenzy. Every district in the county has cut class sizes this year in at least first grade, and several in one or two other grades. The opinion held by many educators now seems to be: So far, so good. But stand pat.

“The sense I get is that everyone would like the program to stay where it is, as far as the grades are concerned, and fully fund it,” said Michael Kilbourn, director of special services for the Orange County Department of Education. “Let it get settled down and run its course for a few years, and then take a look at additional funding for expanding into other grades.”

Wilson’s top education advisors say the governor is open to tinkering with funding details but unwilling to pay the full cost because that could allow the state to encroach on local school management. They depict a tug-of-war between Big Government on one hand, and Local Control on the other.

“We think the incentive is very important, and others would want it to be a full-cost reimbursement,” said Dan Edwards, deputy assistant secretary of child development and education. “But when you have complete and full control of the purse strings, you have a much more vested interest in saying here’s how I want you to do it.”

A look inside one of Newport-Mesa’s schools shows what’s at stake.

The 540-student Harbor View Elementary School has added 3 1/2 teaching spots to cut class sizes in first and second grades, plus a half day of kindergarten. Its four first-grade classes average nearly 20 students apiece, while its three second-grade classes have 18 each.

Meanwhile, in third grade, which Newport-Mesa has chosen not to shrink except for a couple of combined-grade classes, class sizes average nearly 30.

That doesn’t mean Linda Goode can’t handle 30 third-graders. A public school teacher for more than 20 years, Goode circulates during reading and writing time to help students grouped in clusters of four and five. She handles as many as she can in small groups.

But when questions come up, she often addresses the whole class, projecting in a strong voice so all can hear. She faces her students from the chalkboard. One morning, Goode simply couldn’t get to every child with a hand up. A girl named Monique waved futilely for two minutes before the bell rang for recess.

Judy Agee faces no such problems. All 18 of her second-graders tune in when she’s speaking, even at low volume. Her students busy themselves with reading and arithmetic on most mornings in groups of three or four. Agee rotates among the groups and pulls aside students who need extra help. A typical exchange during a math hour:

Scott (hand raised): “Mrs. Agee, I don’t get this.”

Agee: “Scott.” (Scans his work sheet. Finds deep confusion.) “OK, come over here, Scott. Looks like we need to do some work.”

She pulls him to a horseshoe-shaped desk for a few minutes of review, while keeping an eye on others who have finished the problem set and started a geometry puzzle.

“I think they’re further ahead of last year’s classes,” Agee said later, on her lunch break. “In phonics, definitely. In vocabulary and comprehension.”

Goode wishes she had such advantages--”I can’t tell you how great it would be to have 18 to 20 students in a class,” she said--but she and others interviewed on the Corona del Mar campus said the Newport-Mesa board did the right thing.

“We felt at this time that we didn’t want to cut good, existing programs,” Goode said. “Also, teacher salaries are important.” Several teachers say that Newport-Mesa teachers are long overdue for a raise, and that investing more in reducing class sizes would endanger that.

So far there has been no uproar in Newport-Mesa. But as other districts near decisions, such issues as salary hikes and program cuts are likely to ignite public debate. The question of what parents and taxpayers will conclude about class-size cutting, Round Two, is still open.

Last year, districts that balked at shrinking classes confronted a revolt from crowds of parents who demanded immediate action. This year, they can expect more of the same.

“The parents, of course, are going to want every class that’s eligible to get the funding, and they will have a hard time understanding why we don’t take money that’s being offered,” said Donna Artukovic, president of Orange County’s Parent Teacher Assn. and a trustee of Los Alamitos Unified School District, which has cut class sizes in grades one through three but is undecided on whether to do the same for kindergarten.

“Here’s the question: Do we put our school districts into jeopardy and fund the fourth-[grade level]? Do we take money from other programs? It’s a tough question. But at a certain point, you have to be fiscally responsible and recognize that this is something we can’t afford.”

Some parents understand the dilemma. Linda Zoelle, who has a daughter in sixth grade at Lincoln Elementary School in Corona del Mar, said she supports Newport-Mesa’s decision.

“Most parents I know would rather see class sizes stay the same and use the money to give teachers a pay raise,” Zoelle said. “If they cut class size, they’re also going to lose [physical education] teachers and music teachers. They could also lose technology labs.”

State lawmakers are anxious to avoid such controversy. Republicans and Democrats alike were elected last fall on promises of improving schools.

On Wednesday, Assemblywoman Valerie Brown (D-Kenwood) and Delaine Eastin, state superintendent of public instruction, unveiled a bill that would raise state funding for the 20-to-1 program. AB 142 would grant $800 per pupil for schools that shrink classes in the early primary grades, which is an average of what districts estimate is the full annual cost.

“Let’s not lose faith here,” Eastin said in an interview, conceding that many school leaders throughout the state are nervous. “I think we can move closer to where we want to be.”

Another hurdle for many districts is adding space to handle more classrooms, especially in urban areas where real estate is at a premium. Many administrators aren’t satisfied with Wilson’s proposal for a $2-billion state bond initiative for school construction--half of which would be used for the 20-to-1 program--to be placed on the June 1998 ballot.

“We are so overcrowded,” said Joe Tafoya, a deputy superintendent at Santa Ana Unified, which has cut class size throughout first grade and part of second but is leaning against doing more. “Our problem is not finding teachers. We just have no rooms for them.”

The Fullerton School District is also maxed out after shrinking its first-grade classes. Pat Puleo, a district official, said seeking to meet Wilson’s goal “would be ludicrous unless the state fully funds the program.”

Even the expansionists are cautious. On Monday, Capistrano Unified Supt. James A. Fleming will ask his board for the go-ahead to hire new teachers and find space to draw down class sizes in kindergarten and parts of third grade. But Fleming is hedging his bets. His report seeks “conceptual approval of tentative plans.”

Also contributing to this report were Times correspondents Bill Billiter, Kimberly Brower, John Canalis, Leslie Earnest, Lori Haycox, Mimi Ko Cruz, Enrique Lavin, Jennifer Leuer, John Pope, Cathy Werblin and Lesley Wright.

* TUITION AID: Educators warn of potential glitches in Clinton’s plan. A3

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Class-Size Breakdown

Nearly two-thirds of Orange County’s 24 elementary school districts are undecided or leaning against expansion of a program to shrink classes through 3rd grade to 20 or fewer students. Here’s how many students all the districts have in classes of 20 or fewer, by grade and percent of grade enrollment in classes of 20 or fewer. Includes full-, half-day and combination-grade classes. Plans are tentative, pending state budget decisions.

*--*

Kindergarten 1st grade 2nd District Students Percent Students Percent Students Anaheim City 0 -- 2,551 80% 2,283 Brea-Olinda Unified 0 -- 411 100% 25 Buena Park Elementary 10 1% 700 100% 30 Capistrano Unified 0 -- 3,306 100% 3,213 Centralia Elementary 0 -- 727 100% 565 Cypress Elementary 0 -- 695 100% 540 Fountain Valley 21 4% 695 100% 621 Elementary Fullerton 0 -- 1,506 100% 0 Garden Grove Unified 0 -- 3,982 100% 175 Huntington Beach City 0 -- 756 100% 0 Irvine Unified 1,559 100% 1,732 100% 1,658 La Habra City 723 100% 697 100% 691 Elementary Laguna Beach Unified 188 100% 191 100% 193 Los Alamitos Unified 0 -- 578 100% 593 Magnolia Elementary 0 -- 980 100% 430 Newport-Mesa Unified 1,649 100% 1,765 100% 1,584 Ocean View Elementary 0 -- 1,120 100% 1,049 Orange Unified 37 2% 2,163 87% 402 Placentia-Yorba Linda 42 2% 2,072 100% 1,409 Saddleback Valley 2,689 100% 2,751 100% 2,698 Unified Santa Ana Unified 24 0% 5,418 100% 1,265 Savanna Elementary 0 -- 327 100% 0 Tustin Unified 0 -- 1,305 100% 1,210 Westminster 0 -- 1,132 100% 1,071

grade District Percent Anaheim City 79% Brea-Olinda Unified 6% Buena Park Elementary 5% Capistrano Unified 100% Centralia Elementary 84% Cypress Elementary 86% Fountain Valley 100% Elementary Fullerton -- Garden Grove Unified 5% Huntington Beach City -- Irvine Unified 100% La Habra City 100%* Elementary Laguna Beach Unified 100% Los Alamitos Unified 100% Magnolia Elementary 50% Newport-Mesa Unified 100% Ocean View Elementary 100% Orange Unified 17% Placentia-Yorba Linda 73% Saddleback Valley 100% Unified Santa Ana Unified 26% Savanna Elementary -- Tustin Unified 100% Westminster 100%

*--*

*--*

3rd grade Teachers District Students Percent added Anaheim City 0 84 Brea-Olinda Unified 0 -- 8 Buena Park Elementary 0 -- 14 Capistrano Unified 941 31% 134 Centralia Elementary 0 -- 23 Cypress Elementary 0 -- 21 Fountain Valley 23 3% 28 Elementary Fullerton 0 -- 34 Garden Grove Unified 0 -- 74 Huntington Beach City 0 -- 16 Irvine Unified 0 -- 52 La Habra City 0 -- 22 Elementary Laguna Beach Unified 0 -- 6 Los Alamitos Unified 568 100% 34 Magnolia Elementary 0 -- 25 Newport-Mesa Unified 21 1% 68 Ocean View Elementary 988 100% 49 Orange Unified 0 -- 40 Placentia-Yorba Linda 41 2% 66 Saddleback Valley 0 -- 146 Unified Santa Ana Unified 0 -- 98 Savanna Elementary 0 -- 5 Tustin Unified 1,171 100% 65 Westminster 1,081 100% 70

District 1997-98 Plans Anaheim City Leaning against expansion Brea-Olinda Unified Undecided Buena Park Elementary Undecided Capistrano Unified Add kindergarten, expand 3rd grade Centralia Elementary Expand 2nd grade Cypress Elementary Leaning against expansion Fountain Valley Expand 3rd grade Elementary Fullerton Undecided Garden Grove Unified Expand 2nd grade Huntington Beach City Expand 2nd and 3rd grade Irvine Unified Leaning against expansion La Habra City Undecided Elementary Laguna Beach Unified Undecided Los Alamitos Unified Undecided Magnolia Elementary Expand 2nd grade Newport-Mesa Unified Will not expand Ocean View Elementary Probably add kindergarten Orange Unified Leaning against expansion Placentia-Yorba Linda Expand 2nd grade Saddleback Valley Undecided Unified Santa Ana Unified Leaning against expansion Savanna Elementary Probably add 2nd grade Tustin Unified Leaning against expansion Westminster Leaning against expansion

*--*

* As of end of February

Source: Individual districts; Researched by NICK ANDERSON, BILL BILLITER, KIMBERLY BROWER, JOHN CANALIS, LESLIE EARNEST, LORI HAYCOX, MIMI KO CRUZ, ENRIQUE LAVIN, JENNIFER LEUER, JOHN POPE, CATHY WERBLIN and LESLEY WRIGHT / Los Angeles Times