EDITORIAL : TIME FOR A TUNEUP THE STATE SHOULD DELAY EXPANDING THE CLASS-SIZE REDUCTION PROGRAM TO THE FOURTH GRADE.THE state's gold giveaway to schools last year to relieve overcrowded o·ver·crowd v. o·ver·crowd·ed, o·ver·crowd·ing, o·ver·crowds v.tr. To cause to be excessively crowded: a system of consolidation that only overcrowded the classrooms. classrooms was certainly well-intentioned and greatly needed. But should it be expanded? ``No,'' is the answer from Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill. True to the adage ``no good deed goes unpunished unpunished Adjective without suffering or resulting in a penalty: the guilty must not go unpunished, such crimes should not remain unpunished Adj. 1. ,'' the state's cure is proving problematic. The inflexibility in·flex·i·ble adj. 1. Not easily bent; stiff or rigid. 2. Incapable of being changed; unalterable. 3. Unyielding in purpose, principle, or temper; immovable. of the 20-students-to-one-teacher limit imposed by the state creates substantially higher costs and other problems for districts, Hill said in a report issued last week. Last year Gov. Pete Wilson For others named Pete Wilson, see . Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American Republican politician from California. Wilson served as the thirty-sixth Governor of California (1991–1999), the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that and the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a budget agreement that included $771 million to reduce class size in kindergarten through the third grade. Wilson and Democrats put aside their differences during an election year after parents and business leaders continually voiced their concerns about the quality of education in California The California education system consists of a full range of public and private schools in California, from the University of California system, to well-known private colleges, to an extensive network of secondary and primary education schools. . As soon as last year's budget passed, schools hustled. School districts hired 18,400 teachers to put 92 percent of California first-graders in 20-student classes in the past year, Hill's report found. But many of those hired have less experience, fewer qualifications and a lower skill level, on average, than teachers hired in previous years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time report found. That does not mean those hired can't do the job. But it does raise questions about how many qualified candidates are left if the program is expanded to fourth graders. Classroom space is another problem. In Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , the district spent $60 million buying portable classrooms and converting other facilities into makeshift classrooms. But many schools are running short of space, pushing costs higher, analysts noted. To alleviate new problems created by the cure, Hill recommends that the state give school districts greater flexibility in achieving lower class sizes. She also recommended delaying the class-size reduction program to the fourth grade because of shortages of qualified teachers and facilities. Hill is offering sound advice, and we strongly encourage the Legislature and Wilson to heed it. The program needs a tuneup before it is expanded. |
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