08:41 PM PDT on Sunday, July 13, 2008
By MICHELLE L. KLAMPE
The Press-Enterprise
Students across the Inland Empire have fewer summer school opportunities this year as state budget cuts have forced districts to eliminate programs, cut back on course offerings and increase class sizes.
The Corona-Norco Unified School District is offering fewer enrichment courses, such as art, photography and other elective classes, said Karen Stepp, the curriculum and instruction coordinator who oversees summer school.
Alvord Unified, Riverside Unified and Hemet Unified cut summer school for elementary students all together. Alvord also limited its middle and high school programs to those students who are struggling, said Bill Behrens, director of secondary education.
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David Bauman/The Press-Enterprise
Students attend summer school at Santiago High School in Corona. Some districts are cutting back on summer school offerings this year.
Temecula Valley Unified cut personnel costs by hiring fewer teachers and making classes larger, said Dianne Vaez, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment.
"We offered the same things. What changed is the number of students in each class," Vaez said. "Where we had 25 students, now we have 50."
Some Inland districts, including San Bernardino City Unified and San Jacinto Unified, reported no changes to their summer programs.
Summer school has a history of being underfunded, and this year's state budget woes have compounded the problem, said Heather Carlson, a fiscal services consultant with the California Department of Education.
"The problem is we don't have a budget," Carlson said.
The state has not passed its budget and school districts don't know how much money they might receive for summer programs, she said. That's why many schools are focusing their efforts on remedial programs that they are required to offer, and which have some assurance of being funded.
Those programs target students who are in danger of having to repeat a grade, at risk of failing the California High School Exit Examination, or need to make up credits to graduate.
"There are certain classes we just have to do, so we do," said Behrens, of Alvord. "We can only support the remedial work."
In the past, Alvord has been able to offer courses such as physical education and health as "original credit" for students who want to free up room in their schedules to take other courses, such as band or a foreign language, during the regular school year.
"This year it's only for students who have failed," Behrens said.
The only exception is for students in the district's Advancement Via Individual Determination and International Baccalaureate programs. The exception was necessary to ensure the students could meet the requirements of those programs, Behrens said. The students also had to obtain special permission from their counselors, with Behrens reviewing the requests, before being admitted.
The Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint Unified School District also reduced course offerings and gave priority to students who needed remediation, failed classes needed for graduation or have not passed the high school exit exam.
In Temecula Valley Unified, some original credit courses are being offered, but at least 40 students had to sign up before a course could go forward, Vaez said.
Thirteen students interested in taking accelerated geometry at Chaparral High School were turned away for lack of numbers, she said.
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David Bauman/The Press-Enterprise
A summer physical education class is held at Santiago High School in Corona. Some Inland school districts, including Corona-Norco Unified, are reducing summer school offerings.
The district considered sending them to another school where the course was offered, but the combined total number of students was too much for one teacher and not enough for two.
Vaez credited teachers for not complaining about class sizes.
"They are doing the best they can," she said.
Corona-Norco's teachers agreed to be paid a flat rate of $40 per hour, rather than an hourly rate based on their individual salaries, for summer school. The pay change was negotiated by the district and the teachers' union as part of a package of cost cuts to prevent teacher layoffs.
The pay change led to a drop in teachers offering to work the summer sessions, Stepp said. The district was able to manage the change because class sizes are larger this year, averaging 40 students, and enrollment is down from previous years.
Reach Michelle L. Klampe at 951-893-2114 or mklampe@PE.com
