Source: Carmel Valley News, June 5, 2008
By Marsha Sutton
Another standing-room-only crowd greeted trustees of the Del Mar Union School District at their May 28 meeting, as they tackled the volatile issues of staffing, enrichment classes and a new Spanish language program.
Staffing projections, presented by DMUSD director of human resources and facilities planning Rodger Smith, indicate a need for three new teaching positions for the 2008-2009 school year. However, kindergarten enrollment remains a moving target.
“Kindergarten is the most difficult grade level to predict,” Smith said to the board.
Normally at this time of year, the district is 85 to 90 percent certain of its kindergarten enrollment, Smith said. To date, enrollment for kindergarten is near or at capacity at four of the district’s eight schools: Carmel Del Mar (with three classes), Ocean Air (with five classes), Sycamore Ridge (with three classes), and Torrey Hills (with four classes).
Smith said enrollment is lower than predicted at Ashley Falls, which projected 60 kindergarten students but only has 40 to date, and Sage Canyon which projected 100 kindergarten students and currently has 84 registered.
Because of uncertainty surrounding the newly proposed Spanish language program at Del Mar Heights, kindergarten enrollment at the district’s other two schools – the Heights and Del Mar Hills Academy – is fluid. Data as of May 30 show 77 students for kindergarten at the Heights and 32 students for the Hills.
This would normally indicate four kindergarten classes at the Heights and two at the Hills. However, these lopsided numbers have prompted an explosive reaction from some Hills parents and staff members, throwing the future of the Heights Spanish program into question (see related story, page 1).
The board briefly discussed moving students from site to site to balance enrollment and class sizes at each school. Although the policy is unpopular, Smith noted that “the district has a long history of relocating students when there wasn’t room” at their neighborhood schools.
According to Smith’s enrollment figures presented to the board on May 28, the district’s eight schools, for the coming school year, would be allocated enrichment teachers and would increase or decrease the total number of classes from last year as follows:
| School | # Enrichment Teachers +/- | # Classes |
|---|---|---|
| Ashley Falls | 4 | -1 |
| Carmel Del Mar | 3.5 | -1 |
| Del Mar Heights | 3.5 | +3* |
| Del Mar Hills | 3 | -1 |
| Ocean Air | 4 | +2 |
| Sage Canyon | 5 | 0 |
| Sycamore Ridge | 3.5 | +1 |
| Torrey Hills | 4.5 | 0 |
[* two classes dependent upon implementation of Spanish language program in kindergarten and first grade]
The figures show that three classes will be lost, while six are gained. Interim superintendent Janet Bernard said the district planned to hire three teachers to accommodate the three additional classes in the district, although nothing is certain because “the numbers fluctuate this time of year.”
If the Heights Spanish program is allowed to move forward this fall in both kindergarten and first grade, Bernard said two new teachers would be needed for each grade who have credentials in both Spanish and English. A third teacher is needed at the Heights due to increased enrollment in fourth and sixth grades.
Ocean Air needs another teacher for kindergarten, second and sixth grades, but is losing a first-grade class, for a net gain of two. Sycamore Ridge needs another teacher in both first and fourth grades, but is losing half a teacher in kindergarten and second grade, making a net gain of one.
Meanwhile, the district has notified 23 temporary teachers that they may not be returning next year. Speaking on behalf of those temporary teachers was Del Mar California Teachers Association president David Skinner who asked the school board to consider rehiring them.
Del Mar Hills fourth-grade teacher Victoria Hemerick also addressed the board on this matter, voicing through her tears her concern for the plight of the district’s temporary teachers.
Bernard clarified that the district did not issue any layoff notices, or pink slips, to any permanent teachers this year, explaining that temporary teachers are not tenured teachers and are hired with the understanding that their positions in the district are not guaranteed.
Even though they understand that their jobs are temporary, “many times these temporary positions can convert into a probationary status,” Bernard said. “We are hopeful we will be able to call back as many as we can.”
Enrichment staffing
Also of interest to parents and teachers at the meeting was the presentation on enrichment staffing. Enrichment instructors in Del Mar are credentialed teachers of art, music, science, technology and physical education – also called extended studies classes.
Smith’s agenda item detailed “a significant flaw in the formula” for determining how many ESC teachers each school site should receive. “The formula was overly generous,” he said, outlining a complicated process that resulted in a calculation of two additional enrichment teachers in excess of the number the district actually needs.
Although the item was for information only, with no action to be taken by the board, there were 20 speakers who wished to address trustees on the matter.
Ashley Falls sixth-grade teacher and DMCTA collective bargaining lead negotiator Mary Ann Loes spoke on behalf of the district’s enrichment teachers, saying the subjects they teach are essential to learning and integral to students’ education. “We believe these five subjects are part of core curriculum,” Loes said.
Other teachers – including classroom teachers as well as art, music and technology instructors – emphasized the value of enrichment programs to the district and its students. Uma Krishnan, ESC science teacher from Torrey Hills who was just named the 2008 DMUSD teacher of the year, also spoke on the issue.
No school board members disputed the value of the enrichment program or the ESC teachers.
“All of the teachers do a fabulous job,” said board president Annette Easton, who agreed that the ESC program enriched learning immeasurably. The problem is the cost of the program, which she warned was burning through the district’s reserves.
Even though a portion of the $2.3 million enrichment program is funded by the district’s foundation and the generosity of private donors, the remainder is absorbed by the district.
“My challenge to staff is to come back with some really creative options that will keep us fiscally sound,” Easton said. “If we don’t figure out a solution, we’ll be a state-run district. We can’t continue the way we are.”
Despite the dire warning, the district was prepared to support the program for at least one more year as currently structured.
“Your recommendation is that we continue with the enrichment program even though it will have a negative impact on the budget?” Easton asked Bernard.
“Yes, that is correct,” Bernard replied.
Bernard intends to assemble an enrichment action team, with teachers and union negotiators, to participate in a collaborative discussion in the coming months that she hopes will yield a plan that can financially support the ESC program well into the future.
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