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Class Size: How Large Is Too Large? With tough economic times and continuous cuts to school district budgets, the current debate in many school districts is how to keep school districts solvent. Between 80 percent and 88 percent of the total local school district’s budget pays for salaries and benefits. When cutting costs, the choice becomes reduction in employee compensation or increase in class size and loss of programs to students. Once class sizes are increased and programs are lost, they don’t come back. How many students in a classroom is too many students: 36, 40, 50 or 100? The line in the sand has been drawn and you MUST decide which side you will stand on. Your kids, our kids, want you to stand on their side. The choice is yours. CUSD class sizes have been increased four times since 1999, setting the current average size at: Currently, there is discussion between the district and the teacher’s union about increasing the number of students in grades K-12 by two (2) students as a way to balance the CUSD budget and minimize the impact on employees’ salaries. What will this mean to the students of CUSD? CUSD class sizes in grades K-8 are currently at the maximum allowed by law, without a state waiver (See Appendix A below). CUSD class sizes are larger than the California statewide average in all grades: http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/Navigation/fsTwoPanel.asp?bottom=%2Fprofile.asp%3Flevel%3D04%26reportNumber%3D16 California has the largest class sizes in the country. “Small class sizes are key to improving student learning. California Teacher Association (CTA) believes that small class sizes, particularly in grades pre-kindergarten through 12, allow for the optimum development of a student’s potential and ensure individual attention to each student. A reasonable goal for California’s class size is a program that places California in the upper quartile of low class sizes in the United States. Right now, California has the largest class sizes in the country.” http://www.cta.org/Issues-and-Action/Class-Size-Reduction/Index.aspx CUSD has some of the largest classes in the Nation! An increase in class size will result in:
Appendix A By law, CUSD cannot increase K-8 without a state waiver because Education Code 41376 and 41378 place the following restrictions on maximum class sizes:
Appendix B There are 221 high school core classes (English, math, science, social studies and foreign language) that exceed the amount allowed under the current CUEA/CUSD contract for the Spring 2010 semester: Capo HS – 60 classes between 37-42 students San Juan Hills HS – 52 classes ranging between 37-42 students San Clemente HS – 41 classes between 37-41 students PLUS 4 classes that have between 43-46 students Dana HS – 40 classes between 37-41 students Tesoro HS - 16 classes ranging between 37-41 students Aliso Niguel HS- 8 classes ranging between 37-41 students Appendix C At the 10/07 CUSD Board meeting, high school teacher William Hoffman addressed the Board regarding increased class sizes and the impact it is having on teaching, learning and the increased workload for teachers. High school teacher, Mariann Irwin addressed the Board asking that they take action to reduce class size. CUEA President Vicki Soderberg addressed the Board regarding the oversized classes and the staffing of secondary schools based on ADA rather than enrollment and the impact this has caused, thus the filing of an Unfair Practice Lawsuit against the district. “Small class sizes are key to improving student learning. California Teacher Association (CTA) believes that small class sizes, particularly in grades pre-kindergarten through 12, allows for the optimum development of a student’s potential and ensures individual attention to each student.” http://www.cta.org/Issues-and-Action/Class-Size-Reduction/Index.aspx Seventy-five percent of high school dropouts believe that smaller class size and more individual instruction would have improved their chance to graduate. 2006 Gates Foundation Study. “The Silent Epidemic Prospective of High School Dropouts.” Appendix D The more program offerings a school has and the larger the average size is, the more difficult it is to average out class size. High schools are now at the tipping point. As the average class size increases, some programs must be eliminated because for every class that is under the average another class must be over the average. For instance, at an average class size of 36.5 students, what will be done if 50 students need/want to study 4th year French? (Keep in mind they have already completed years 1 through 3 and the colleges are getting competitive and want to see four years of the same language.) Will the school create two classes with 25 students each or one class with 50 students or will they create one class with 37 students and tell the other 13 students they can’t complete their studies? What happens when only 20 students want to take AP Government? Should the school drop the class or should they increase another class by 17 students? With increase in class size, choices for students are eliminated. As the economic crisis continues, what will happen next year when additional cuts are needed or 5 years? Or 10 years? Just how many programs should be eliminated and how large should class sizes grow? How many compromises should we make in our children’s education? Appendix E For every class that exceeds the union contracted student enrollment, a teacher gets one release per month to grade papers in grades K-5 and one day per semester, per class in grades 6-12. For example, a 4th grade teacher that teaches more than 33 students in class, gets one day per month to grade papers and a substitute is hired at the district’s expense. Per the CUEA (Capistrano Unified Education Association) contract, teachers get one release day per section when enrollment exceeds the contracted number of students in a class in grades 6-12 and one day per month for grades K-5) (CUEA/CUSD contracted enrollment numbers are K=32; 1-5 = 33; 6-8= 35 and 9-12=36). If class size were to increase by two students, the number of classes that exceed the contract enrollment would increase and the number of subs required would increase. http://www.cuea.org/index2.shtml . In fact the average class size in 9-12 would become 36.5 and would actually surpass the 36-student rate that triggers a substitute allowance. Currently, in high school only, the number of release days for the spring 2010 semester is 221 days (per the contract). The CUSD substitute rate is $90 per day; however, education code 44956(5) requires that that districts offer substitute positions to district teachers who have been let go in the past 36 months. Those previously employed teachers are to be paid at the daily rate they were making when they lost their jobs. Per the CUSD salary chart, the minimum daily rate for a one-year teacher with a BA degree is $271.66 per day or $48,899 for 180 days. (See salary schedule http://www.cuea.org/index2.shtml CUEA/CUSD Contract language reads: “8.5.1 If at any time after the 15th student day of the school year, a class size maximum is exceeded in grades K-5, the teacher shall receive one full-day release per month by a substitute for every month that the class exceeds the above-stated maximum. 8.5.2 If at any time after the 15th student day of the school year, a class size maximum is exceeded in grades 6-12 in the following academic classes: English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Foreign Languages, the teacher shall receive a full-day release by a substitute per semester per class that exceeds the above-stated maximum. One period of release time will accrue monthly from September through January and February through June for each class section that exceeds the stated maximum. The release time must be provided by a district substitute, rather than a unit member.” At the secondary level, these maximums apply only to core academic classes (English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Foreign Language): |
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