Some O.C. Class-Size Goals Fall Short

After a frantic year of hiring additional teachers and building more classroom space, some Orange County districts ultimately did not meet their original plans and are receiving far less from the state than they had estimated--in one case, more than $1 million less.

According to data officially released today by the state Department of Education, Capistrano Unified and Anaheim City will receive nearly 20% less than they had anticipated because they had overestimated their abilities to cut primary-grade class sizes.

Under last year’s class-size funding program, schools could earn $650 for each student in a class capped at 20 students per teacher. To participate in the funding program, districts first had to estimate how extensive their class-size reduction program would be. As the year progressed, some school systems realized they could not achieve their initial goals.

Capistrano Unified, for example, originally applied for $6.1 million to cut class sizes in its first through third grades. But because of limited classroom space, schools were unable to meet that goal with about 60% of their third-grade classes. This resulted in a shortfall of $1.1 million.

“We couldn’t do all of third grade because it was essentially a facilities problem,” Capistrano Supt. James A. Fleming said. “We’re a district that experiences a 7% student enrollment growth each year. There’s a constant influx of students coming in.”

Administrators said falling short of their initial estimates does not mean any major losses to the district’s budget because schools only invested into cutting class sizes where it was possible. Ultimately, most of those efforts are reimbursed by the state.

However, some districts did face some losses when new students arrived mid-year and caused classes to grow over the 20-student limit, thus disqualifying them for funding. This occurred at two Capistrano schools, Fleming said.

Anaheim City, where 16 of its 22 elementary schools were on year-round schedules last year, also didn’t reach its original class-size goals because of major overcrowding problems. When the state announced a class-size waiver for districts with severe space problems, Anaheim City officials jumped at the opportunity and applied for the waiver to achieve smaller class sizes at all its first and second grades.

But administrators later learned that only year-round schools could qualify for the waiver. Thus, Anaheim’s six traditional schools were exempt from the waiver, causing the $747,000 loss, and the district scaled back its ambitions accordingly.

“It was no surprise to us,” said Maria-Elena Romero, assistant superintendent of business at Anaheim City School District.

Meanwhile, other districts actually exceeded their initial expectations, and received more class-size funding than they had originally estimated.

For example, Centralia, a small Buena Park district with 5,000 students, implemented the class-size program at 19% more classes than they initially intended.

“We were very conservative in our estimates early on,” said Marc Forgy, Centralia assistant superintendent of business. “As the year progressed, we realized we could implement it in a few extra classes.”

Saddleback Valley Unified, one of the county’s larger districts with about 18,000 elementary students, also achieved more smaller-sized classes because they had gained 400 more students than the district had projected earlier in the year. Fortunately, officials said, they were able to keep pace with the enrollment growth and cut class sizes in all kindergarten through second grades.

“It was quite an undertaking,” said Saddleback Valley spokeswoman Elaine Carter.

Even Santa Ana Unified, where overcrowding was so severe districtwide that officials originally questioned whether they could participate in the program, gained a boost in their class-size reimbursements. Officials first envisioned that they could only shrink class sizes at the first grade level, but some schools later were able to implement the program at the second grade level.

And even when new students entered midyear, swelling shrunken class sizes to more than 20 students, Santa Ana officials said they hustled to shift pupils around to keep the class sizes down.

“Principals tried to be sensitive about moving kids at such a young age around,” Santa Ana Assistant Supt. Joe Tafoya said. “In the end, it worked out well.”

Overall, Orange County districts will receive about $44 million, the third largest total in class-size money from the state. Administrators said they expect estimates will be more accurate next year, as they work toward expanding and refining their class-size programs.

“Having gone through it now, there’s not that anxiety. There’s nothing out there that will completely surprise us,” Tafoya said.

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Class Size Budget

Some of Orange County’s school districts will receive less state funding than expected for smaller class sizes, because they could not meet their original plans. Reimbursement is based on actual number of students moved into classes with a maximum of 20 students:

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Original State School district estimate reimbursement Difference Anaheim Elementary $3,890,900 $3,144,375 -$746,525 Brea Olinda 282,100 284,050 1,950 Unified Buena Park 442,000 464,100 22,100 Elementary Capistrano Unified 6,082,050 4,986,800 -1,095,250 Centralia 715,000 851,500 136,500 Elementary Cypress Elementary 857,350 814,450 -42,900 Fountain Valley 820,950 859,950 39,000 Elementary Fullerton Elementary 924,300 994,500 70,200 Garden Grove 2,713,750 2,712,450 -1,300 Unified Huntington Beach 478,400 490,750 12,350 City Irvine Unified 2,543,125 2,588,950 45,825 La Habra City 1,149,850 1,103,050 -46,800 Elementary Laguna Beach 308,100 331,500 23,400 Unified Los Alamitos 1,126,450 1,139,450 13,000 Unified Magnolia 1,151,800 956,800 -195,000 Elementary Newport-Mesa 2,598,050 2,743,000 144,950 Unified Ocean View 2,067,650 2,067,000 -650 Elementary Orange Unified 1,848,275 1,739,725 -108,550 Placentia-Yorba 2,455,050 2,328,300 -126,750 Linda Unified Saddleback Valley 5,019,950 5,327,725 307,775 Unified Santa Ana 3,627,000 3,694,600 67,600 Unified Savanna 208,000 192,725 -15,275 Elementary Tustin Unified 2,294,500 2,414,100 119,600 Westminster 1,867,450 1,885,325 17,875 Elementary Total $45,472,050 $44,115,175 -$1,356,875

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Source: California Department of Education; Researched by TINA NGUYEN / Los Angeles Times