L.A. Schools Need at Least 400,000 Books, Audit Finds

The Los Angeles Unified School District’s first textbook audit indicates that the district needs at least 400,000 books in high schools and middle schools--more than one for every student--merely to issue a book to each pupil in every academic class.

Despite the daunting estimate, Supt. Ruben Zacarias vowed Friday that the district will put a book in every student’s hands by July. At an average cost of $40 per tome, that promise could cost the district $16 million--a sum that does not include elementary schools.

“Let’s assume it’s [$16 million]--if that’s what it takes, that’s what we’ll spend,” Zacarias said, emboldened by the district’s improving budget picture. “In the context of a $5-billion to $6-billion district, that should be a top priority.”

The audit, prompted by a Times story last summer about dire book shortages, confirms anecdotal evidence that the problem is generally more acute in high schools, where students have the greatest need for textbooks to complete in-depth study and more taxing homework. But middle schools also are suffering.

San Fernando High reported the greatest shortage, citing a need for nearly 10,000 books--more than two per student. Reporting the lowest need among traditional high schools was Crenshaw High, which collected a $50 book fee from every student as insurance against loss and theft. The practice, while apparently productive, is illegal and was halted by the district in November.

The audit indicates that shortages occur sporadically districtwide, with only a couple of new schools reporting that they have all the books they need on file. Eight of the 10 high schools with the greatest shortfall are in poorer neighborhoods.

District administrators speculated that the shortage may be exaggerated because some schools could have confused pure lack of books with the desire to replace older texts. They also pointed out that many of those asking for the most books had chosen in recent years to spend their instructional materials money in other ways.

Indeed, a Times survey of three years of book budgets found that top requester San Fernando High was also the lowest spender, shelling out just $13 a student--about half the district’s already poor average.

The school’s principal, Philip Saldivar, did not return repeated phone calls last week. The district’s high school director, Robert Collins, said he was aware of the situation, which he characterized as not unique to San Fernando.

“We can go around and point fingers, but I don’t want to do that,” Collins said. “I don’t want to penalize any kid for the decisions of adults. The kid deserves a book, the kid’s going to get a book.”

Collins is being assisted in the district’s textbook mobilization by former Crenshaw Principal Yvonne Noble, who established the illegal book deposit policy at her school before she went on medical leave.

Asked whether Noble was the best equipped to deal with the problem, Collins responded: “The individuals working on this project are very aware of the textbook problem. . . . We got the best people who can do that.”

A second district survey is attempting to separate the two issues--absence of books from merely old books--to facilitate plans for addressing the most dire shortages first. A memo delivered to all principals last week says using old books is “better than nothing.”

Former high school teacher David Tokofsky, a member of the Board of Education, criticized that approach as ignoring the many flaws of out-of-date books.

“Here’s where it doesn’t work: the state framework’s changed,” he said. “These old world history books teach periods of history that teachers are not supposed to be teaching. Are they sensitive to the language needs of our limited English students? Are they focused on the heroes of yore that are all white males? They don’t take into account the massive changes in immigrant population.”

Once the second, more nuanced survey is complete in March, the district intends to begin matching needs against resources, Collins said.

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Among the options for schools is a loan fund established by Zacarias that schools can repay with future annual textbook allocations. The fund was originally set at $1 million, but Zacarias said he has since increased it to at least $4 million.

So far, one-third of the high schools and at least a dozen middle schools have tapped into the fund.

But district middle school director John Leichty warned that without additional state funding enriching textbook budgets--the intent of several pending bills--a permanent solution will remain elusive.

The state provides only about $17 per student for books. This year, Zacarias, concerned about the shortage, supplemented that figure with about $13 per student from district coffers.

But together that is still not enough to buy even one book per student districtwide.

“We can do all of this, but unless the Legislature consciously steps up to the plate with a reasonable textbook allotment, we’re always going to be chasing our tail,” Leichty said.

In the major subject areas, science books were the most highly sought after by district schools, with more than 135,000 requested at the secondary level. That reflected the fact that reforms in teaching the subject have made it difficult for schools to obtain books incorporating those changes.

At Van Nuys Middle School, Principal Tony Delgado scribbled on the “textbook needs” form that he wants to replace all his science books, 32,640 of them to be exact.

“I know from the science department that it was a wish list,” Delgado said. “Middle schools have been changing their curriculum over the last few years and they’re looking for much more hands-on type of books that would fit closer to the state framework and standards.”

Typically, Van Nuys Middle School follows the usual pattern, buying books one grade at a time as money becomes available. But with the possible prospect of additional funding this year, Delgado said the school wanted to buy books for all grades “in one shot, so sixth grade fits into seventh and so on, a good intermingling.”

Fremont High in South Los Angeles, featured prominently in The Times’ initial story on book shortages, would have landed fourth in the list of the neediest high schools were it not for the outpouring of $265,000 in private donations after the article.

“We really are in good shape,” marveled Assistant Principal Marcia Hines. “With the money we have allocated, we can replace and order. We’re just finishing up an order for Algebra II and then we should have enough books for every student, at least in the academic core subject areas.”

The district received its own private books donation: $200,000 from the philanthropic California Community Foundation, which went to five high schools. The foundation has gathered another $200,000 from private contributions, which it hopes to hand over to the district this month, after five more needy schools are identified.

There has been some internal district discomfort with the foundation’s plans to move into its second phase--a probe into ways to improve the delivery and maintenance of textbooks. But after a meeting late last week, foundation spokesman Allan Parachini said he was optimistic the plan would proceed.

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The foundation has recruited all 12 current fellows in the Los Angeles branch of the Coro Foundation, a prestigious government-administration training program. Each will spend time in schools trying to get a handle on how books are being used in classrooms and how they are being inventoried.

On a separate track, principals are to be called to a training and brainstorming meeting in March focused on textbook management. Collins said about a third of the high schools have a computerized inventory system, but many of the others do not have the technology it requires.

“We have to figure out ways to take better care of our textbooks,” Leichty said. “Otherwise, it doesn’t do any good to bring all these textbooks on board.”