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Teachers, school bus drivers, librarians and counselors will be laid off. Classes will increase in size. Schools could close. Students will pay higher fees for sports, music, art and drama programs. And computer classes? Forget about it! If this sounds like some draconian education nightmare, it’s time to wake up and see the sea of red ink flowing all over your principal’s desk. Many public schools in Orange County are going to take big hits next year, thanks to a $4.8 billion statewide cut in education proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. And declining enrollment is packing an extra financial punch, too. Orange County has lost 11,000 students in the past 5 years, with a loss of $77 million in state revenue, says Orange County Superintendent of Schools William Habermehl. Our public schools are in turmoil. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced in March that an estimated 20,000 teachers, counselors, librarians, nurses and support staff statewide received potential layoff notices. By law, school districts had to send out notices by March 15 to teachers and other personnel who could be laid off at the end of the school year. Districts often rescind many notices later. Layoff notices stay in force until budgets are adopted in June. If the state’s budget isn’t yet final, schools will have a hard time planning for “back to school,” and classes could be reshuffled at the last minute, angering parents whose children have to switch classes and teachers, Habermehl says. What does all this mean for us? In Orange County, 28 public school districts are collectively cutting about $204 million, or 5%, from their current operating budgets. Almost 2,000 educators could be laid off, according to the Orange County Office of Education. Program cuts and layoffs will vary from school district to school district, and those with declining enrollment will get hit even harder. With the potential for so many teachers to get laid off, educators predict that drop-out rates will rise and test scores will fall at schools that increase the size of classes because students will be receive less individual attention from teachers. Pink slips galore The lives of countless teachers also have been thrown into turmoil. Third-grade teacher Christina Kolley was named Teacher of the Year for 2008 at her school, Don Juan Avila Elementary School in Aliso Viejo, but Kolley received a layoff notice anyway, despite having tenure for 7 years. A single mother of 2, Kolley says she may look for work as a substitute teacher or tutor, or leave the profession and go back into accounting. Parents are scared, too, says Kolley. If the Capistrano Unified School District goes through with plans to scrap the 20:1 student-teacher ratio for classes in grades K-3, parents will “freak” when they bring their children to school next fall and see K-3 classes with 32 students. “It’s going to be a huge year of adjustment,” Kolley says. “Many parents have asked if it’s too late to get into private school. They pay a lot of money in taxes, and both parents work in many cases so they can live in Aliso Viejo and their kids can get a good education. It’s being messed up.” Patty O’Neill has taught kindergarten through 4th grade for 8 years at Melinda Heights Elementary School in the Saddleback Valley Unified School District. This year, O’Neill, a 9-year temporary teacher without tenure, is being dismissed. O’Neill says she may look for a teaching job with a private school in Orange County, and she anticipates that many parents will transfer their children from public to private schools. “My students’ parents are saying that with the cost of tutoring and all the extras they pay for, they’re considering private school,” she says. Parents who have older children in high school have told O’Neill they may remove them from public schools in the Saddleback district. The district is considering cutting its International Baccalaureate Program and lowering the minimum number of course credits students need to graduate from high school, from 230 units to 220 units, meaning less instructional time for college-bound students. “Once we start curbing these things, more and more kids across the nation will be more competitive (for colleges) than ours,” says O’Neill. Proposed cuts are deep, but they vary School districts face cuts of varying degrees based on projected enrollment and their individual budgets. Here’s a sample of proposed cuts around Orange County. (Keep in mind that an unknown number of teachers and staffers who received layoff notices may not lose their jobs when budgets are adopted.) > The Santa Ana Unified School District, which already faces lost revenue because 21 of its 27 schools are declining in enrollment, is likely to eliminate class-size-reduction programs at all 37 elementary schools. Up to 570 teachers could be laid off. > The Saddleback Valley Unified School District faces a $19.5 million budget reduction. Class-size-reduction programs in grades K-3 could be cut and bus transportation eliminated for all but special-education students. More than 200 permanent and temporary teachers received pink slips. Other savings could come from cutting elementary music programs and librarians. > More than 400 teachers, administrators and support staff could be laid off as part of the Capistrano Unified School District’s effort to cut $27 million. Smaller classes for grades K-3 could be eliminated. > The Anaheim Union High School District gave pink slips to about 100 teachers. The district faces $17 million in budget cuts. > The Orange County Office of Education, which covers many special programs, will make cuts to programs across the board and anticipates laying off about 100 employees. fam Amy Bentley is a contributing writer to OC Family Magazine. Send your comments on this topic to the editor. go to: ocfamily.com and click on “Feedback” |
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