SCHOOLS MAY GET ADDITIONAL FUNDING; REVISED BUDGET TO CALL FOR MORE SMALL CLASSES.

Byline: Paul Hefner Daily News Sacramento Bureau

Gov. Pete Wilson's revised budget will call for spending an extra $230 million to encourage school districts to place almost 1 million more children in classes of no more than 20 students.

The increase would raise the annual bonus districts receive to $800 for each kindergarten through third-grade student involved in the program - a 20 percent increase over what Wilson proposed in January and enough to cover the full cost of the smaller classes, officials said.

The money will come from $2 billion in additional revenues the state expects to collect next year as California's economic picture brightens.

``That's great. That's really great,'' said Jeff Horton, president of the Los Angeles Board of Education, when he heard the news Saturday. ``It should enable a lot of districts, including us, do a better job with achieving class-size reduction.''

But Horton said the Los Angeles Unified School District still faces problems acquiring more classroom space and hiring credentialed teachers to achieve the class-size reduction goals.

Though Wilson will formally unveil his revised budget this week, officials disclosed details of his class-size reduction package Saturday.

``It's our happy Mother's Day announcement,'' said a senior administration official, who asked not to be named.

The funding increase marked Wilson's first offer to have the state assume virtually the entire cost of the program, which has proven wildly popular with parents.

``When he (Wilson) gets on a . . . flight to Los Angeles, people thank him for class-size reduction,'' one senior administration official said.

Democrats reacted positively.

``Our first impression is, we have no problem. We're on the same wavelength,'' said Sandy Harrison, a spokesman for state Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer, D-Hayward.

After years of putting more and more children in each classroom, California began its class-size reduction effort with great fanfare last year. The state set aside $771 million for the program, paying districts $650 for each child in a class of no more than 20 for each teacher.

Districts statewide scrambled to take advantage of the program, putting up portable classrooms and hiring more than 16,000 new teachers.

Nearly 1 million students were placed in smaller classes, but there were some bumps along the way. For many districts, the $650-a-student bonus didn't cover the full cost. In addition, many schools had trouble finding enough classroom space.

And though the program called for districts to put students from up to three grades in smaller classes, many were forced to stop after only one or two.

``A lot of them, when they were hitting a brick wall, the brick wall was the facilities,'' one senior Wilson staffer said.

To address that problem, Wilson's new plan calls for allowing districts to use up to half their new $800-a-pupil allotment to put up portable classrooms or other facilities.

Horton said that facet of the plan would be of little help to Los Angeles, where many school sites are too crowded to accommodate more portable buildings. The district already has many portable classrooms on order, he said.

``We're getting them as fast as it is possible to get them,'' Horton said.

Another looming issue is will there be enough teachers?

Officials estimate that school systems would have to hire about 15,700 more teachers to accommodate the 908,000 kindergarten through third-grade students not yet placed in smaller classes.

Wilson officials said they don't see the need to hire more teachers as a major obstacle. Many districts have stepped up their efforts to bring in teachers from out of state, and to train new ones through internships and other programs.

``The word is out nationwide that California is hiring teachers,'' one official said.

But an assessment of the program by the state's legislative analyst released in February found that districts were, on average, hiring teachers with less experience, fewer qualifications and lower skills.

Horton said the state should also step up funding for teacher training programs at state colleges and allow the district to expand its efforts as well.

``We have way too many teachers on emergency credentials,'' Horton said.