School District Facing Exodus of Teachers

Orange Unified School District trustees have agreed to aim for no more than 20 students per teacher in first-grade classes this fall.

Board members late last week gave unanimous approval for elementary school principals to participate in a $971-million program announced by Gov. Pete Wilson this summer to reduce elementary class sizes by February.

Orange Unified, one of the county’s older school districts, has to overcome some formidable obstacles to meet the challenge, Supt. Robert L. French said. He estimated that the district will need 35 new teachers and classrooms to cut first-grade class size.

Some teachers, however, have left to take jobs in higher-paying districts also seeking to reduce class size, and another 27 have asked to be released from their contracts.

Teacher Leslie Votava said she has an offer from Irvine Unified School District that she cannot turn down.

“I am a 27-year-old getting a master’s degree, and $8,000 more a year means a lot to me,” Votava said. But the decision was painful, she said, because “I don’t want to leave my students not knowing if they’ll have a qualified teacher.”

About 100 parents concerned about the exodus of teachers came to the board meeting carrying signs urging higher pay for teachers.

“We’re worried that if the good, quality teachers leave Orange Unified, we’ll be saddled with the new, inexperienced and maybe even uncredentialed teachers,” parent Melodee Fayhy said.

Some parents and administrators said the generous benefits packages available to Orange Unified teachers and retirees has limited the district’s ability to raise salaries.

District officials emphasized that unqualified teachers will not be hired, even if that means not meeting the goal of reducing class sizes.

The state’s incentive offers a bonus of $650 per pupil to schools that meet the goal.