California schools struggling with budget-trimming decisions

In a cheery classroom decorated with posters exhorting students to "Dive into a Good Book," four first-graders, who are struggling to read, recited words ending with the "ang" sound -- bang, rang, sang, fang, gang. The Foothill Ranch Elementary School students used their index fingers to trace the letters into squares of felt and carpet, imprinting the connection between the letters and the sound into their minds.

The Language Arts Assistance Program has helped a generation of struggling youngsters in this Orange County suburb become skilled readers. But it, along with sports teams, small classes and school librarians, may vanish next year as Saddleback Valley Unified School District officials trim $13 million in spending for the upcoming school year.

Under the budget approved by the state Thursday, schools and community colleges will be forced to cut $7.4 billion from their budgets this year and $3.2 billion next year. And a $787-billion federal economic stimulus package that is expected to send billions to school districts isn't enough to backfill deficits, educators say.

"It doesn't look good for us," said instructor Tina Hatch, 52, who teaches the reading program designed for pupils in first, second and third grades. "It's very sad because these kids definitely will fall through the cracks if there's not a program like this."

Because of reduced state funding, school districts across the state are dealing with such difficult decisions. They have been cutting spending annually in recent years, but prior trims -- slimming the administrative staff, cutting back on maintenance, reducing the cleaning schedule -- were mostly invisible to students and parents.

But now, in many places the low-hanging fruit is gone, and educators are left with painful cuts that reach directly into classrooms, including widespread teacher layoffs, increasing class sizes and the eliminations of music, sports and other programs that are not mandated by state and federal law. And that includes Saddleback's reading-intervention program.

"You're very definitely going to feel the pinch in the classroom because there's no place else to go anymore," said Saddleback Supt. Steven Fish, whose school board also is considering closing a neighborhood elementary school and trimming its International Baccalaureate program. "The list isn't long enough. I need more."