Anaheim Ca Schools Overcrowding

A school board meeting Saturday over proposals to seek payment from foreign countries or the federal government for educating illegal immigrants was laced with nationalistic fervor and emphatic talk about race, but ended with no vote. Anaheim school board members stressed to two dozen people in attendance that the proposals are aimed at dealing with school overcrowding and funding.

About two dozen people gathered at an Anaheim school district meeting Saturday morning to discuss a touchy proposal to seek payment--either from foreign countries or the federal government--for teaching illegal immigrants in Anaheim schools. Laced with nationalistic fervor and emphatic talk about race, the meeting ended with no vote on the proposal but rather with board members stressing to the audience that the proposal was about school overcrowding and adequate funding.

The Anaheim City School District on Tuesday adopted a plan that should alleviate its overcrowding crisis but will place all of its schools on a year-round schedule and could leave it $10 million in debt. * The plan adopted by the Board of Education calls for the district to fund the construction of five so-called "instant" schools at a cost of $2 million apiece and put the last eight of the district's 21 schools on a year-round calendar.

A school board meeting Saturday over proposals to seek payment from foreign countries or the federal government for educating illegal immigrants was laced with nationalistic fervor and emphatic talk about race, but ended with no vote. Anaheim school board members stressed to two dozen people in attendance that the proposals are aimed at dealing with school overcrowding and funding.

Work is scheduled to begin next week on a new elementary school that will help ease, but by no means alleviate, problems caused by a growing student population in the Anaheim City School District. "This is not going to solve the overcrowded conditions," said Maria-Elena Romero, assistant superintendent of business administration. But at least it will help, she said.

Two dozen kindergarten teachers urged the Anaheim City School District this week to change a new district policy that will force teachers to supervise up to 65 children. Teachers told the school board Tuesday night that two teachers together watching over as many as 65 5-year-olds will cause confusion and cut into valuable classroom time. Teachers said they would lose the equivalent of four weeks of instruction a year. The change also might pose safety risks, teachers said.

The Anaheim City School District board will meet in special session at 1 p.m. Sunday to pore over final details of its plan to decrease overcrowding on its campuses. The plan, which calls for building five new schools, putting all of the district's schools on a year-round calendar, increasing class size and eliminating after-school day-care programs, is scheduled for final consideration Tuesday. That meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. Both meetings will be held at district headquarters, 890 S.

About two dozen people gathered at an Anaheim school district meeting Saturday morning to discuss a touchy proposal to seek payment--either from foreign countries or the federal government--for teaching illegal immigrants in Anaheim schools. Laced with nationalistic fervor and emphatic talk about race, the meeting ended with no vote on the proposal but rather with board members stressing to the audience that the proposal was about school overcrowding and adequate funding.

Administrators of Anaheim's elementary school districts are pleading with the City Council to slow the city's development pace because schools are almost filled with students. Representatives of the Anaheim City School District begged the council last week to delay the construction of a 108-unit apartment building downtown because classrooms in the area are full. Council members replied that they understand the district's concerns but that the city needs more housing.

At Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Anaheim, children spend their recess playing at a neighboring park because their own school playground is packed with temporary classrooms. Space is so tight at Century High School in Santa Ana that two of the school's six outdoor basketball courts and an area originally designated for an outdoor swimming pool are now crammed with portable classrooms. The school has added 32 temporary classrooms since it opened in 1989.

A local biologist might help students dissect earthworms on the third floor of a vacant office building. After a lunch break, the students could climb aboard a bus and head off to start their school day, which wouldn't end until late afternoon. Anaheim City School District is hoping scenarios like this will extend students' learning time and keep them off the streets and out of trouble when the district starts double sessions to relieve overcrowding.

At Abraham Lincoln Elementary School in Anaheim, children spend their recess playing at a neighboring park because their own school playground is packed with temporary classrooms. Space is so tight at Century High School in Santa Ana that two of the school's six outdoor basketball courts and an area originally designated for an outdoor swimming pool are now crammed with portable classrooms. The school has added 32 temporary classrooms since it opened in 1989.

Following protests from parents and teachers, the Anaheim City School District has modified a recent policy that had meant kindergarten teachers would supervise up to 65 children. District officials last month had directed kindergarten classes be combined for as long as 22 minutes a day to cope with a booming student population and a limited 38-vehicle bus fleet. Kindergarten teachers and parents opposed the move, arguing it would cut into valuable instruction time and pose safety risks.

Two dozen kindergarten teachers urged the Anaheim City School District this week to change a new district policy that will force teachers to supervise up to 65 children. Teachers told the school board Tuesday night that two teachers together watching over as many as 65 5-year-olds will cause confusion and cut into valuable classroom time. Teachers said they would lose the equivalent of four weeks of instruction a year. The change also might pose safety risks, teachers said.

The Anaheim City School District on Tuesday adopted a plan that should alleviate its overcrowding crisis but will place all of its schools on a year-round schedule and could leave it $10 million in debt. * The plan adopted by the Board of Education calls for the district to fund the construction of five so-called "instant" schools at a cost of $2 million apiece and put the last eight of the district's 21 schools on a year-round calendar.

The Anaheim City School District board will meet in special session at 1 p.m. Sunday to pore over final details of its plan to decrease overcrowding on its campuses. The plan, which calls for building five new schools, putting all of the district's schools on a year-round calendar, increasing class size and eliminating after-school day-care programs, is scheduled for final consideration Tuesday. That meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. Both meetings will be held at district headquarters, 890 S.

Following protests from parents and teachers, the Anaheim City School District has modified a recent policy that had meant kindergarten teachers would supervise up to 65 children. District officials last month had directed kindergarten classes be combined for as long as 22 minutes a day to cope with a booming student population and a limited 38-vehicle bus fleet. Kindergarten teachers and parents opposed the move, arguing it would cut into valuable instruction time and pose safety risks.

Because of overcrowding, Anaheim City School District officials want to put all of the district's schools on a year-round schedule, add more portable classrooms, drastically increase class size and build five new schools by 1999. The district now has 13 schools on a year-round schedule and it is proposing to add the remaining eight schools to the list. But the plan, announced by Supt.