"(The cuts are) not in the best interests of the students and it's terribly frustrating for the teachers," says biology teacher Oleetha Arnold, the teachers' union liaison on campus. "You have to keep dipping into your own pocket to provide things that the district should provide, or you cancel a lesson and the students pay the price."

GRANT MATH TEACHER MEENA RAO LOOKS OUT AT THE 40 STUdents hunched over their books in her geometry class and laughs wryly at the thought of teaching a class half as full. Veterans talk of 10 years ago, when basic math classes were limited to 25 students. But Rao, a teacher for only four years, cannot remember when classes held fewer than 35 students. "I thought last year was difficult, but this year. . . ." She shakes her head wearily.

Like most math teachers, she has felt pressure from the district to bring up math scores. But, instead, the budget crunch has left her struggling to keep her students from falling further behind. "I don't know what is expected of us anymore," Rao, 39, laments. "When you put 20% more kids in a class, there's no way you're going to see us improve or even hold steady." She began the semester with more than 50 students in some of her classes. "They were sitting on the floor, leaning against the walls," Rao recalls. For weeks, there were not enough desks or chairs or books.

More than 20 of Grant's teachers have jumped ship this year, most of them opting to retire rather than struggle with the twin afflictions of burgeoning classes and dwindling supplies. The departures were a mixed blessing for Collins. They spared him the task that fell to most high school principals this year--that of axing their newest teachers to comply with board-mandated staff reductions. But they left some of Grant's busiest departments, such as math and science, with gaping holes. Grant had to eliminate some music courses and its driver training program--here, in a community that revolves around the car--and cut the Armenian-language class popular with 300 students, but most courses survived. With student rosters adjusted to keep classes close to the 40-student average set by the district, and about 400 students absent every day (half of whom will not show up again), many teachers still have courses with 45 pupils--levels unseen since the 1960s, when some schools were forced to hold classes in half-day shifts.