Wilson to Seek Longer Year for Public Schools

Gov. Pete Wilson, continuing his drive to reform education before he is forced to leave office in a year, is pushing to lengthen the public school year and will earmark $350 million in his 1998-99 state budget to pay for it, senior administration officials said Saturday.

Offering a preview of the governor’s education spending priorities for the coming year, officials said the budget would also contain money for expanded remedial reading programs, school safety, academic mentors and same-sex academies.

Wilson is entering his final year as governor and has signaled that education reform will be a high priority as term limits chase him out of office.

He already is promoting a November ballot measure that would give parents a say in curriculum and spending decisions and create an education czar to inspect school performance.

In an interview shortly before Christmas, Wilson said he believes that his education initiatives may be his most important legacy as governor.

“It’s his passion at this juncture in his gubernatorial career,” one senior official said.

The most significant proposal unveiled Saturday would require school districts to provide a minimum of 180 instructional days annually, bringing the state up to the national average.

California’s standard--adopted in 1983--requires that minimum number. But over the last decade, it has been eroded by as many as eight “staff development” days--on which students do not go to class.

As a result, the average number of actual instructional days for the state’s 922 school districts is 175.5.

Japan and Germany, whose students routinely outperform California’s in basic subjects, require 200 days, and few educators dispute the concept that more time in class produces higher achievement.

“We think less time in the classroom and less time with the teacher has a lot to do with the situation we’re in now,” one official said, referring to California’s dismal rankings in student performance.

“Dead last in reading . . . is nothing to write home about,” added another official, noting that California’s fourth-graders tied with Louisiana’s as the worst in reading on the 1994 National Assessment of Education Progress test.

In the past, a longer school year for California’s 5.2 million students has primarily been a Democrat-backed idea. State Supt. of Public Instruction Delaine Eastin campaigned on it in 1994 and has urged that the year be stretched to 190 days.

State Sen. Steve Peace (D-El Cajon) last year wrote legislation to extend the year, but funds for only one extra day were included in the budget.

Now Republicans are championing the idea of more class time. In November, state Sen. Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga) announced he would carry a bill that mirrors Wilson’s plan.

“Obviously we’re excited about [the governor’s] longer-year proposal, because it’s something we’ve been pushing,” Eastin said in an interview Saturday.

But she criticized one aspect of the proposal that would bar teachers from being paid for so-called passing time--the six minutes or so when students are traveling between classes.

Wilson administration officials said that time--which might add up to 30 minutes at a typical high school--should not be counted as part of the instructional day and that teachers should not be compensated for it.

“Why should we pay them when kids are running around the campus?” one official said. “That’s not instructional time.”

Eastin, however, said teachers use that time to “erase the blackboard, prepare for the next class and also talk to kids.”

“I think this is a small, mean-spirited idea that shows a real lack of understanding of what goes on in the classroom,” she said.

Although that element of the proposal is sure to prove controversial, Wilson’s broader pitch for more instructional days will probably win support from throughout the education establishment. The California Teachers Assn. has expressed support for the idea, as has the California School Boards Assn.

Other budget proposals that Wilson administration officials revealed Saturday include:

* An allocation of $10 million to augment summer remedial reading programs for children who test below their grade level.

Noting that 60% of freshman entering the California State University system require remedial help in reading and mathematics, officials said the proposal aims to attack the problem early, requiring districts to offer remedial assistance for students in third through sixth grade.

* Grants totaling $10 million to school districts that form partnerships with law enforcement agencies to enhance school safety.

Officials said interviews with parents and teachers around the state show that crime at school remains a leading concern. Grant money could be used for a range of efforts, including the training of volunteer monitors or the hiring of on-campus officers.

As part of the school safety plan, Wilson wants to expel students for possessing illegal drugs on campus, and would spend $6.2 million to enforce such a “zero tolerance” policy. Currently, expulsion is automatic for the sale, but not possession, of controlled substances at school.

* An additional $5 million in start-up money for 20 same-sex academies, which are magnet schools with voluntary enrollment.

Six pairs of single-gender public schools are already operating in California--in Fountain Valley, Stockton, San Francisco, San Jose, East Palo Alto and Siskiyou County. Wilson officials said such academies offer a more structured environment, free of distractions from the opposite sex.

Nationally, the idea of all-girls schools has been gaining strength, boosted by studies showing that girls have more leadership opportunities and do better academically when they don’t have to compete for a teacher’s attention with boys.

Eastin, although not opposed to the concept, said it is too early to tell whether California’s same-sex academies enhance achievement.

* An additional $5 million to expand a program that uses volunteer mentors and tutors to help students improve their academic performance.