Sacramento area school districts resist push for smaller class sizes
Published: Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014 - 12:00 am
Randall Benton / RBenton@sacbee.com
Kindergarten teacher Peggy Watson handles 32 pupils in her class at Phoebe Hearst Elementary School in Sacramento on Friday, January 31, 2014. Class-size reduction - a promise of the governor's new funding plan for schools - may be more of a dream than reality at some local school districts. School districts like Sacramento City Unified say they have no intention of reducing class sizes from their current 32 students in kindergarten through third grades. Parents remain concerned, but the district says it has no money.Gov. Jerry Brown’s new school funding plan promises smaller class sizes, but that is more dream than reality at some California districts.
The mandate seems simple enough: Schools with crowded classrooms must begin reducing kindergarten to third-grade class sizes or face a roughly 10 percent reduction in funding. But one big loophole exists: Districts can keep the larger classes if their teachers unions agree.
Historically, unions have supported smaller class sizes, which generally require districts to hire more teachers. But after agreeing to reductions during the recession, some teachers may see restoring pay hikes and benefits for current employees as a priority.
Even if teachers want smaller class sizes, districts such as Sacramento City Unified School Districtsay they can’t afford them. The urban district stands to lose $7.1 million in state per-pupil