March 3, 2009
VUSD to reconsider class sizes, reading program
A week after slicing $12 million from next year's proposed spending plan, Vista Unified School board trustees will meet Thursday to revisit proposals to eliminate a reading intervention program and increase class sizes in three grades.
The board is also set to decide whether to change a policy that requires schools to let parents know if their children are excused from classes for any medical appointments.
The board already voted 3-1 last week to increase class sizes, but trustee Angela Chunka asked Friday that the issue be reconsidered. Chunka voted against the proposal, and board member Steve Lilly was absent. The proposal to ax the reading program was delayed until this week.
In addition to increasing class sizes, the board voted to close Vista Focus Academy, reduce middle school sports, cut the number of buses for elementary school students, scale back maintenance at campuses and send out preliminary layoff notices to hundreds of employees.
The spending cuts were needed because the district is facing a 3.5 percent drop in revenue from the state, which is in the midst of its own fiscal crisis.
District officials have estimated Vista Unified will take in $190 million in the 2009-10 fiscal year, compared with $197 million in the current fiscal year and $206 million in 2007-08. Spending is also expected to fall to $190 million in 2009-10, compared with $207 million in the current fiscal year and $201 million in 2007-08.
Increasing class sizes in first through third grades would make up a chunk of the savings. If those classes, which now hold 20 students, were increased to 32 students, the district could lay off as many as 120 teachers, officials have said.
Still, Vista Unified probably won't boost the class sizes by that much, board President Carol Herrera said Monday. The exact number of students each teacher is responsible for would have to be determined in contract negotiations with the teachers union, she said.
Another cost-saving change the board will consider Thursday is whether the district should continue with the Lindamood-Bell reading program, which Vista Unified started using three years ago to help teach some struggling students to read.
Some parents and teachers have complained that the program costs too much and doesn't help enough students. Three of the five trustees, including Herrera, have questioned the value of Lindamood-Bell.
"I've always found this to be a very expensive program that meets the needs of small amounts of children," she said. "I believe there are programs out there that are less expensive and can do the same kind of thing."
In total, the district spent nearly $3.5 million this year on Lindamood-Bell, including $2.7 million on the salaries of teachers who oversee the program. Vista Unified has also paid the company that administers the program roughly $1 million a year over the last three years. Most of that money went toward teacher training.
Paul Worthington, director of development for Lindamood-Bell, said the company isn't expecting to charge the district more than $300,000 next year, as more district employees become certified in the program.
Proponents say the program is working and worth the price, as it serves some of the students in the district who are most at risk of falling behind.
"We're seeing significant results," Trustee Jim Gibson said.
Also, much of the money that pays for the program is federal money set aside for struggling students or those from poor families, and must be used only on programs that serve those students.
On Thursday, the school board will also consider changing a district policy that prohibits students from being released from school for medical appointments without the permission of a parent or guardian.
The new policy would allow school officials to release students in grades seven through 12. It needed to be changed to adhere to state education laws, Herrera said. Most surrounding districts have similar policies, she said.
Gibson said he and some parents who have contacted him are worried that students could be released from school to get abortions.
"It's not right for the school district to interfere with the relationship between a parent and a child," he said. "We need to focus on what we're supposed to do, which is educate children in support of parents."
Thursday's meeting is slated to start at 7 p.m. at Foothill Oak Elementary School, 1370 Oak Drive in Vista.
Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at (760) 901-4009 or sbrandt@nctimes.com.
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