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Bigger Class Sizes To Come as District Slashes Budget
posted: February 10th, 2010 11:47 am |
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Class sizes will increase, even for kindergartners, along with other cost-saving changes that are part of budget reductions approved Tuesday night by the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education.
The 2010 budget is the third straight budget with cuts — but this time, the $13.5 million in cuts will include personnel. The district office, administration and support operations take 60 percent of the cuts and school sites will take the other 40 percent.
According to information posted on a district website, kindergarten through third-grade classrooms will go from a 21.25:1 student teacher ratio to a 24:1 ratio, eliminating 34 certified positions and saving $1.8 million.
Secondary class size will increase from 30:1 to 31:1, saving $843,060 by eliminating eight positions.
Other cuts will be to the GATE program, with four eliminated positions.
The $13.5 million in cuts is more than the total of cuts made in the past two years. According to the website, In 2007-2008, the district cut $3.1 million, and in 2008-2009, the cuts were $8.2 million.
The website says the cuts are a result of the state’s current unstable fiscal climate. “Districts did not create this problem, but they must deal with the consequences….Because at the end of the day… it’s about the kids and they are counting on us.”
