More money to help reduce class sizes

School districts across Washington will see an increase in state money for reducing class sizes as they head into budget adoptions this summer.

Under a supplemental state budget signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire last month, districts will get a per-student increase in voter-approved Initiative 728 funding, critical for helping struggling students, providing professional development for teachers and keeping class sizes down.

The allocation will increase from $300 to $375 per student. For Spokane Public Schools, that means $10.8 million in revenue.

“We had to raise class sizes two years ago to balance our budget,” said Mark Anderson, the district’s associate superintendent for school support services. “We are now adding more teaching staff to reduce it by one student per class.”

The district also will add teaching staff in its high schools to help students meet academic standards, including the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, or WASL.

Initiative 728, known as the Student Achievement Fund, was approved by voters in 2000. School districts must hold public hearings on how they will use the funds by May 1 of each year.

The money can be used to reduce kindergarten through fourth-grade class sizes, reduce the size of selected classes in grades five through 12, extend learning opportunities for students, provide professional development, improve facilities and help pre-kindergarten students.

Locally, most of the money has been used for lowering class sizes or for staff development.

Central Valley School District’s Progress Elementary School has used the money for a “Kindervention” program for struggling kindergartners. The district will collect an additional $935,000 next year through I-728.

“Kindervention” serves about 12 kindergarten students, with six morning students staying an hour late and six afternoon students coming an hour early to work with an I-728 teacher. The students are identified as needing extra help through literacy assessments.

“The expectation is different for kids coming into kindergarten than it was eight or nine years ago,” said Ellen Hopkins, the I-728 teacher at Progress. “We have been able to give the kids a better foundation moving into the first grade. It’s really vital.”