Summer will be a little late this year in the School District.
A week from next Thursday, on June 26, fully 6 days after graduation completes the old school year, the new year will start likely with big noise:
The School Board has invited teachers and parents to speak out at a community meeting at the Robert Frost Auditorium on the brewing subject of student permits.
The hot question going into the 6 o’clock meeting is:
Are too many permits being issued every year? Are Culver City campuses as crowded as some people feel?
That these longtime back-burner questions have spilled out into the open is a tribute to the hardiness of Scott Zeidman and Steve Gourley, the two first-year School Board members who have brought a dynamic energy — and urgency — to the staid way that the Board traditionally conducts business.
The June 26 community meeting on the campus of Culver City High School is the brainchild of these two. They may be the leaders, but the state of the followers on the School Board is a separate matter. It is not clear yet how many of their colleagues truly are on board. Nor how enthusiastic any of the other three are.
Mr. Zeidman said he can’t provide answers to either question “because we actually never have voted on anything. What I do know is that Mr. Gourley and I campaigned last year on the idea that we would limit the number of students in our high school and our Middle School.
“According to our sources — teachers, principals and students — those schools have more students in them than maybe what would be a fair number.
“There may be a technical term for overcrowding, but I don’t know what it is. I would say ‘overcrowding’ is having too many students for the number of buildings we have. Maybe our schools are unreasonably full.
“There has to be a level that is judged to be a fair number. Otherwise, we can continue to put up buildings and fill them up.
“But at some point, you have too many children. What is too many?
“This is something the Board ought to look at, and I have been asking them to do that.”
Hard Numbers
What is Mr. Zeidman’s concept of too many student permits?
“I am not an expert in that field,” said the business entrepreneur. “But people I have been speaking to, educators and parents, think that around 1350 to1400 students in the Middle School (presently1600-plus), and around 1800 in the high school (presently 2100-plus).”
He envisions a process that would be gradual rather than a sudden dropff.
“Over a long period of time, not tomorrow, we probably have to lose 200 to 300 kids not coming into the system,” Mr. Zeidman said.
What is the time frame?
He said the present student population must be exempt.
Present Company Excluded
“It is unfair to tell any student in our system who maintains the minimum requirements that he or she no longer is allowed in,” Mr. Zeidman said.
“There are 7 years of classes in the Middle School and the high school. If we started with the next year’s sixth-graders, we could slowly reduce over 7 years without a draconian loss in any area.
“Therefore, within 7 years, our schools would be at a more manageable level.”
How would the whittling process work?
“First, we are not going to eliminate anyone,” he said. “The Board or the Superintendent would make that decision. For me, common sense would mean to start in elementary schools. Whether you are a Culver City resident or on an inter-district permit, you ought to continue on into our Middle School and our high school. You are part of our community.
Reaching a Desirable Number
“The question is, if we have 450 sixth graders going into the Middle School— just to pick a number — why do we have to add in 50 or 100 more sixth graders who weren’t part of our system in K-through-5, into the Middle School?
“I would not accept additional permits if we matched the number of students we had decided on for a class. If, say, 450 leave the fifth grade, but 40 of them decide to go on to schools outside of the District, then there are 40 spots open.”
Underlying this debate is the contentious subject of declining enrollment.
“Right now, we are making up for declining enrollment by having more inter-district permits,” Mr. Zeidman said. “As a business owner, it always is nice to know what your costs are going to be, year in and year out. I know what my rent is going to be this year, next year and the following year. I have a pretty good handle on what my employee costs will be this year, next year and the following year. So I can figure out exactly what I need to buy, sell and so forth to break even or make a profit.
Is the Theory Transferrable?
“Wouldn’t it be nice in the School District if you had a pretty good idea that every year you are going to have approximately ‘X’ number of students in your schools, broken down as follows?
“You could adjust for everything that way. Your teachers would be set. You wouldn’t have to hire more teachers one year and let some go the next year. You wouldn’t have to worry about staff, either. You know pretty much you are going to have ‘X’ kids.”
Mr. Zeidman said he is confident the School Board can rationally debate the subject and come to a decision without a firefight. “The five of us have the best interests of our schools at heart,” he said. “If we get to choose a maximum number, I believe the five of us together will arrive at the correct number.”
(To be continued)
