County Education Forecast

Cuts in state funding worry county schools chief

Superintendent Julian Crocker warns of proposed budget disaster and gaps in students’ achievement

By AnnMarie Cornejo

While local students continue to score better than their peers statewide on standardized tests, schools continue to struggle to close the “achievement gap” between the leading and lagging students.

That outlook dominated the county schools superintendent’s annual education forecast for San Luis Obispo County on Wednesday.

Declining enrollment also remains an issue—because fewer students mean school officials have less money to spend — along with less money expected from the state budget.

County schools Superintendent Julian Crocker said the governor’s proposed budget is “disastrous” for education.

Under that plan — which won’t be finalized until summer by the state Legislature—most school districts would get $700 less per student in the next academic year.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed $141 billion state budget calls for a decrease of about 10 percent in public-education funding.

That would amount to a $26 million decrease for San Luis Obispo County school districts, Crocker said.

Meanwhile, enrollment at most local school districts continues to decline.

There are 318 fewer students enrolled in this school year compared to 2006-07, he said. There are now 2,000 fewer students in county schools compared to 2001.

The decline is expected to continue at least another five years.

“If you have fewer students, you have less money,” Crocker said.

Enrollment started to drop in 2001 because of a number of factors, such as the region’s high housing costs and low birth rates.

Only two of the county’s 10 school districts — Paso Robles and San Miguel — had an increase in students this year.

Declining enrollment could lead school districts to consider layoffs, to close campuses or to search for ways to turn vacant space into revenue sources, Crocker said.

Enrollment has been dropping as countywide scores on the Academic Performance Index—used to measure academic performance and growth—continue to rise.

Most local schools are at or near the state’s target — 800 on a scale of 200 to 1,000. The average county score is 54 points above the state average.

Still, Crocker said that local schools must deal with the gap between the high test scores of the highest-achieving students and those who are still learning English or come from low-income families.

That gap remains, he said, even as school districts continue to introduce programs to help struggling children, such as tutoring focused on academic standards.

Crocker suggested that all students could be brought to the same achievement level by starting their education in preschool.

“Half of the kids who come to kindergarten do so without having attended a quality preschool,” Crocker said.

The county Office of Education hopes to launch a program later this year that will make preschool more feasible for more parents, he said.