Many schools without special funding

MercedSunStar.com
01/20/06
By Juliet Williams
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SACRAMENTO -- So many students are failing California's high school exit exam that many school districts are receiving none of the $20 million in special funding set aside for tutors.

The money, approved by legislators last year, is going only to schools with the highest failure rates.

It is meant to provide extra courses, teachers and materials for seniors in the class of 2006 who have not yet passed the test. They are the first students in California required to pass the English and math exam before they can receive a high school diploma.

Districts receiving the special funding were given $600 per eligible student, but it only funded tutorial programs for about 33,300 students. State officials have not said how many students might be unable to graduate because of the exam, but education experts have estimated the number could reach 100,000.

The special allocation is being sent only to schools where at least 28 percent of students in this year's class failed the test. Officials in other districts told The Associated Press on Thursday that they are providing tutoring by spending money that was intended for other purposes.

The New Haven Unified School District in the eastern San Francisco Bay area is among districts not receiving any of the special state money, even though a quarter of this year's seniors at James Logan High School in Union City failed the exit exam.

"If we didn't make it with that number, I would expect that there are some districts out there with some very high numbers (of failing students)," said Carnell Edwards, the district's associate superintendent for education services.

The district is offering after-school tutorials and study sessions to prepare students for the exam but is shuffling other money to pay for it, Edwards said. For next year's seniors, he expects the state will make money available to pay for the tutorials.

Assemblyman Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate, a co-author of the bill that authorized the $20 million in special financing, said he was surprised the money did not go very far.

"It was just an estimate on the Legislature's part," he said. "You know, $20 million sounds like a lot of money, but obviously it didn't go anywhere near where it needed to go to cover the students that were missing the mark."

In his proposed budget for next fiscal year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger increased funding to $40 million to pay for remedial programs for students having trouble passing the test, Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said.
"We believe that we have provided the resources in this budget for schools to be able to do what it takes to get their students to pass the exit exam," Palmer said.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell helped write the test and has remained firm on its importance.
His staff stressed that other tutorial funding is available, such as $52.6 million included in this year's budget for tutoring special education students. Another $165 million that schools receive for a wide variety of programs for students in grades seven through 12 also can be used for exit exam tutoring, education department spokesman Rick Miller said.

Advocates for special education and minority students, as well as those learning English, have complained that the test is discriminatory because all students are not afforded the same preparation.

Schwarzenegger's Education Secretary, Alan Bursin, said the state is trying to ensure there is money for every California student who is having trouble passing.

"All schools and students who need the help will be in a position to get it," Bursin said.

Also Thursday, education leaders announced new legislation to exempt special education students from the exit exam requirement for this year only.

The bill is intended to settle a lawsuit filed by special education advocates and will allow those students who are on track to graduate to do so if they show they've taken the exit exam at least twice and have taken remedial courses.

Department of Education officials said it would affect 25,000 students in this year's class.

State Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, said she hopes to introduce the bill within days but said she remains concerned about the exam.

"I'm disappointed that there isn't a solution yet at this point for the other possibly 100,000 students who may be denied a diploma this year after passing all the other requirements," she said.

In San Francisco, nearly a quarter of students at Balboa and Galileo high schools failed the exam, but neither school received any of this year's $20 million allotment.

Lorna Ho, special assistant to San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, called the state's cutoff arbitrary and said it is a ridiculous way to fund vital programs.

"I think it's a travesty. I think that we are seeing across the state K-12 education suffering and not being able to help kids who may be at risk or in need of assistance -- whether it be passing tests or fulfilling mandates or whatever it is," Ho said.