Story Created:
Mar 4, 2010 at 11:14 AM PST
Story Updated:
Mar 4, 2010 at 11:14 AM PST
SANTA FE SPRINGS — The Little Lake City school board has unanimously approved a proposal to increase class sizes for kindergartners through third grade from the current 23 to 1 student-teacher ratio to 26 to 1 and to possibly eliminate about 25 teacher positions.
Board members reviewed the proposal from Superintendent Phillip Perez at their Feb. 9 meeting and approved it Feb. 23.
Perez said the increase in class sizes and teacher layoffs will save the district about $345,000 in the coming year. He said the tentative state budget with a $20 billion deficit announced by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in January calls for a statewide $1.5 billion in cuts to education.
It would mean a loss of about $1.25 to $1.5 million in state funds to the district, Perez said.
Notices to teachers that they may be laid off next year must be sent out by March 15, Perez said. The district’s budget must be completed by June 30.
Perez recalled that last February the board approved increasing class size from a 20 to 1 student-teacher ratio to 23 to 1 for a savings of $375,000. However the 20 to 1 ratio was kept during the currentt year and teachers’ jobs were saved thanks to a one-time grant from President Obama’s American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of February 2009.
The 20 to 1 ratio was approved for the 2009-10 school year only.
In other action Feb. 9, the board approved plans and purchased insurance for a trip to Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City for eighth graders and staff at Lake Center Middle School in Santa Fe Springs.
Maria Soto, administrator for educational services, in a report to the board, said about 95 students are expected to make the trip May 8-15, under the supervision of teachers, chaperones and representatives of Apple Tours, which will provide company representatives, tour guides and night-time security guards.
The cost of the trip is $2,245 per student and includes round-trip airfare to the East Coast, lodgings, meals, ground transportation, tours, and admission to various facilities, and bus transportation from the school to Los Angeles International Airport and back, Soto said.
“No student who has indicated a desire to participate in the trip will be denied the opportunity due to an inability to pay,” Soto said, noting that the students and their parents are encourage to take part in fund-raising efforts.
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