Gary Moskowitz
Despite a projected drop in enrollment this school year, Glendale
Unified School District officials fear they might have to cap
elementary school classes that are filling up and move some students
to another school that has open seats.
The district participates in class-size reduction, which allows
only 20 students in every kindergarten, first-, second- and
third-grade classroom. Classrooms in those grades are filling up, and
the district might have to move students wherever open desks are
available, said Alice Petrossian, assistant superintendent for
educational services for the district.
"Many of our schools already have classes in one or two grades
capped at 20 students," Petrossian said Wednesday. "We cannot go over
20 in any of those classrooms, and the district cannot financially
support extra staff for a few extra students."
The district receives about $900 per child per year by
participating in the program. One class of 20 students would bring
$18,000 in state program funds to the district. The state penalizes
districts that exceed the ratio of 20 students to each teacher by
withholding program funding, Petrossian said.
"We can't afford to lose all the money for one entire class
because we go over by one student," Petrossian said. "That is not
acceptable."
The district slashed about $7 million from this school year's
budget in response to an unprecedented state budget deficit. The
district contributes roughly $2 million each year to participate in
the class-size reduction program.
Schools are informing parents that students might have to be moved
to other schools when they enroll their children, officials said.
Parents can put their child's name on a waiting list to have them
placed back into their original school, but it is likely that the
child would spend the entire year at the new school, Petrossian said.
The district does not provide transportation for the child to get to
his or her new school.
District officials predict that about 430 fewer students will be
enrolled in the district than in fall of 2002. Glendale schools had
29,795 students enrolled in the 2002-03 school year, according to
district reports. Officials predict an enrollment this year of
29,365. The district's 2003-04 school year began last month at its
year-round elementary schools and traditional calendar schools begin
Sept. 3 and 4.
The district last year received about $4,660 per student per year
in state Average Daily Attendance funds, but this year expects to
receive about $4,600 per student per year, said Steve Hodgson, chief
business and financial officer for the district.
District officials said a drop in birth rates, as well as a
growing number of families with children moving from Glendale and a
rising cost of living in parts of Glendale, could be the cause of a
decline in enrollment, specifically in south Glendale.
The district would receive about $2 million less in student
attendance funds, based on enrollment projections, officials said.
"Declining enrollment has a tremendous impact on funding," Hodgson
said Wednesday. "You can't reduce cost as fast as you are losing
funding. We can't change our staffing ratios at this point."
