Gambling millions on smaller classes
School officials may be willing to lose millions of dollars so they can cut about 300 students a year to combat overcrowded classrooms.
Increased enrollment from local students, combined with a high number of out-of-district permits granted by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, has led to the overcrowding.
“Permits have enabled the district to maintain a generally upward trend in overall student enrollment over the past several years,” wrote administrators in a report that was presented at Thursday’s school board meeting. “Unfortunately, the district is nearing or has reached its physical capacity to house more students.”
“Unfortunately, the district is nearing or has reached its physical capacity to house more students.”
To reduce class sizes, the school board is considering limiting the number of non-resident students by placing a moratorium on issuing new permits and retiring old permits as students graduate or leave the district.
However, school officials said nonresident students currently enrolled in the school district will be allowed to finish out their education in Santa Monica.
District officials hope by limiting the number of non-resident students entering the school system over the next nine years, they will be able to cut 300 students annually — a loss of $1.5 million in state funding per year — until an average class size of 27 students is achieved.
According to the school district’s report, non-resident kids currently make up nearly 21 percent of the student body and bring in about $12.8 million annually for the school system.
To make up for the dramatic decrease in funding, the school district will have the difficult task of finding new ways to make up for the lost revenue.
Five years ago, the school district was under-funded and unable to cope with the financial weight of educating its students. So in order to raise money, the school board allowed many out-of-district students to enroll in Santa Monica. With the increased enrollment, came extra money from the state.
Now the school district boasts some of the top test scores in the state and a wide array of classes and extra curricular activities.
In October, the school board asked the administration to study ways of decreasing class size and the impact it could have on the school district’s financial health, which prompted the district analysis. The board’s decision was not known before press time Thursday.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 7, 2001. Read the original PDF.