Novato Kids Get Bumped From Overbooked Schools (CA)

September 7, 2010

Like overbooked airline passengers, 30 to 40 kids in Novato  are getting bumped from their overenrolled schools two weeks after the first day of class – transfers that parents say are more about money and union contracts than children’s needs.

Third-grader Franni Moran was told to say goodbye to Olive Elementary and her new friends Friday, 10 school days after she said hello.

Betting some enrolled students wouldn’t show up for school, Novato district officials overbooked several elementary schools this fall to ensure class sizes of 20 students in K-3 classrooms – no more, no less. If too many did turn up, they would transf er the children who most recently registered.

At 20 students, the district gets the maximum funding from the state for class-size reduction while also fulfilling the teachers union contract requiring the district maintain that teacher-student ratio. The contract also calls for up to 28 students in fourth and fifth grades.

In Franni’s class, there were too many kids.

The little girl, who moved to Novato and registered for school in August, has been assigned to a school bus bound for Lu Sutton Elementary School for yet another first day of school. She’ll be allowed to continue attending Olive, within walking distance of her house, pending a hearing on her case on Sept. 16, her mother said.

An unexpected change in schools would be hard for any child. For Franni, it’s worse.

The former foster child has reactive attachment disorder, which makes change really tough. It’s difficult for her to make friends and even harder to keep them, said her mother, Terri Moran.

"My daughter is crying," she said by telephone as she picked up Franni on Friday afternoon. "She’s confused."

District officials say late transfers typically happen each fall after they finalize the number of students who show up. This year, students at four of eight elementary schools in the district will shift to other sites.

"We’re completely sympathetic (to the families). But there are absolute compliance issues that we’re mandated to adhere to here," said Pam Conklin, Novato Unified director of human resources.

Mandated is a strong word.

Districts have flexibility in how many kids they can put in an elementary school classroom. To get the maximum funding for class-size reduction, they have to keep K-3 classes at 20. The Legislature in recent years has minimized penalties for exceeding that number by a student or two.

Other districts handle the same uncertainty Novato faces before each school year by limiting enrollment to seats available and then combining classes if not enough students show up. The extra teachers, not the kids, then get bumped to other schools.

"It’s not a perfect system," said Fran Rozoff, elementary school vice president of the Novato Federation of Teachers. "These are the kinds of stories that break your heart. We’re doing our very best to meet the needs of these children by keeping the class size low."

Parent Theresa Brunner was also waiting Friday for an appeal hearing on her third-grade son’s forced transfer out of Olive. His brother in the first grade at Olive hasn’t been transferred.

"They’re pulling families apart," she said. "It’s insane."

The teacher contract gives the district flexibility to increase class size in one class per grade, per school. Yet, if there are openings at other schools, the district transfers the children before considering the other option, said Rozoff, a fourth-grade teacher at Olive.

"The intent here is to keep the class sizes low because it’s the best education possible for kids," she said.

Moran knew Olive Elementary was overbooked when she enrolled Franni in the school, but told district officials she needed to know so she could place her daughter elsew here if a transfer was likely or even possible.

They placed her at Olive and she was told last Tuesday that Franni would have to switch schools.

Moran said she doesn’t expect to be able to keep her at Olive, but wants to make sure the same situation doesn’t happen to another child again.

Children should not be chess pawns in a numbers game, Moran said.

"This is about the money," she said. "It’s not about the kids."