Students Fear Cuts of Advanced Classes

Plans to eliminate Moorpark High School classes with fewer than 30 students enrolled have many fearing their college plans could be in jeopardy.

Advanced placement classes, which many college-bound students take, would be among those affected.

The decision to eliminate classes is a result of the labor contract signed in March between teachers and the school district, officials said.

Junior David Graham said his chances of getting into a good university may be jeopardized if the school cuts or combines smaller advanced placement classes with college prep classes.

David and several other students told of the difficulty of getting into top universities and the need to list challenging classes on their transcripts to set them apart from other applicants.

Board members said anticipated state funds calculated into the budget last year have not yet been received.

The board agreed to increase student-teacher ratio to avoid hiring new instructors and going over the budget. The labor agreement included that stipulation.

Board members said they don’t want to lose the advanced placement classes but need to keep close tabs on any future hires.

“We certainly want to protect our AP classes,” board member David Pollock said. “But we are having to watch our hiring very closely because we are concerned about our ending fund balance. We can’t deficit-spend anymore.”

Pollock also said that in the past the school district had been able to dip into the emergency fund to hire more teachers. Next year, the teachers’ contract will allow one teacher for every 30 students at the high school.

Board members said many of the smaller advanced placement classes could be combined with college prep courses, allowing classes such as Academic Decathlon to remain.