Many Schools Get Poor Grades

Cecilia Estrada knows firsthand that students suffer when their schools are overcrowded, when their classrooms are often temporary buildings without drinking water or adequate ventilation, and when their playgrounds are little larger than postage stamps.

As principal of Sherman Elementary in Golden Hill, she copes with almost 1,200 students, too many by at least half for her to learn their names. She oversees dozens of teachers, a majority of whom opt as soon as possible for more pleasant surroundings elsewhere--with permanent buildings and without the stress of enduring four lunch periods and four recesses.

Now, for the first time, San Diego city schools trustees are going to put down on paper what Estrada and many of her colleagues have wrestled with for years: That as many as half of the district’s schools violate one or more of the state standards for maximum number of students, maximum percentage of classrooms in temporary buildings and minimum acreage to ensure adequate playground and recreational space.

The majority of the schools deficient in one or more of the standards are in heavily urban, nonwhite areas of San Diego that are south of Interstate 8, where student achievement lags behind that found in neighborhoods with schools in relatively better condition.

The standards to be adopted early next month will become part of the district’s long-range master plan for building schools, and will give trustees uniform yardsticks in deciding where to make their first improvements should new construction money materialize.

“This is an excellent way for us to compare existing facilities to what we believe they should be, and to determine our priorities (for improvements) in ways other than messing around politically,� board member John de Beck said in an interview.

Traditional practice has been to Balkanize construction by spreading it across all trustee districts whether or not that is justified, De Beck said.

“We will be able to count up the deficiencies in one part of town compared to another area so that in case of a miracle where we get money, we’ll have a list that is clear in telling us where the worst problems are.�

That miracle could come next June, when the district hopes voters will give permission to hike property taxes to reconstruct existing schools and build new ones. Final details will be worked out by January on the amount of money a successful bond issue would raise and where the money would be spent.

“We know things are tough and difficult economically, but we need to be able to call out accurately what we really think we need to help improve the schools,� said Jeanne Jehl, district administrator in charge of putting together the finishing touches on a bond proposal.

Added board president Shirley Weber: “When we go to voters, they will at least understand that by any reasonable standards, we are in deep need of improvements.�

The standards call for elementary school enrollments of not more than 1,000 students. At present, 18 elementary schools have enrollments exceeding that level, of which 15 are south of I-8 in the Mid-City, Southeast and Paradise Hills areas.

For junior high and middle schools, enrollment should not exceed 1,500 students, a level that four district schools now surpass. High schools should have a maximum of 2,500 students. Two district sites now have more.

Fifty-two elementary schools, almost half the district total of 108, have more than 30% of their classrooms in portable buildings, the maximum level suggested by the state. Of that number, 43 are south of I-8, with the percentages ranging from 31% to 96% portables. Sixteen of the 18 schools with more than 1,000 students also have portable percentages above the standard.

Five junior high and middle schools violate the 30% standards, as do three high schools.

The district also will adopt standards calling for elementary schools to have a minimum of 6 to 10 acres, middle level or junior highs to have between 12 and 30 acres, and high schools to have a minimum 15 to 45 acres.

Twenty-five elementary schools fail to meet the minimum--including 22 south of I-8--as well as three middle schools and one high school.

The district also will devise a measure to reflect not just total acreage but the amount of usable playground space available in schools where portables have been placed in areas previously available for student recreation. That could increase the number of schools not meeting standards for adequate playground area.

“We really haven’t had the discretionary money to go back in and expand these schools,� Jehl said of the many schools in low-income urban areas where many families find the county’s only affordable housing and where--even then--may double up in formerly single-family residences.

“So, lacking funds for capital, what we have done on a year-to-year basis is to fund portables,� she said. That has created a vicious cycle where the schools continue to grow in population while open space dwindles, she said.

“What we see here is data reflecting the needs of families who are struggling and living in some of our lowest income areas and whose kids deserve a fair shake� in terms of facilities, Jehl said.

The planned June ballot measure would propose generating construction money through higher property taxes. The measure would require only a simple majority vote to pass because it would ask voters to reinstate taxing authority originally authorized for the district in 1974, and therefore would not be a new tax requiring a two-thirds vote.

The measure could raise as much as $80 million through higher taxes by 2003, school district attorney Tina Dyer said, about half the approximately $160 million raised through the successful Proposition Y bond measure that voters passed with a simple majority in 1988. Construction and renovation of numerous schools has been under way as a result of that bond, but its resources are inadequate to cope with the population growth that administrators face in urban areas, they say.

“I think a new measure will pass,� De Beck said, in spite of the present economic recession and unwillingness of the electorate to approve higher taxes.

“I would hope that the community will support it because it would create jobs. And even though the areas with the highest priority (for expanded or new schools) are not uniform throughout the city, improving schools in one area would relieve pressure on schools in other areas.�

De Beck conceded that his district, which covers Point Loma and the beach areas, would not receive as many benefits based on priorities, although schools under the Lindbergh Field flight path could get soundproofing. “But people have to realize that there are certain areas that need the funds more,� he said.

Weber said that the building program approved by voters in 1988 has brought benefits to many areas such as Scripps Ranch, where a long-awaited high school is under construction.

“I think that residents in Scripps Ranch know how significant a new school is for them and that they will help us improve the situation in the Mid-City and Barrio Logan areas where construction is very much needed now,� Weber said.

“If we can show city residents how crowded schools are, by inviting them to visit, I think we’ll make converts of everyone.�

Deficiencies at Schools

* Schools exceeding maximum enrollment levels (1,000 students for elementary schools, 1,500 for middle schools, 2,500 for high schools):

Elementary schools: Balboa, Bethune, Boone, Brooklyn, Central, Emerson, Encanto, Ericson, Euclid, Hamilton, Jackson, Kennedy, Logan, Mason, Miller, Sherman, Valencia Park, Zamorano.

Junior High/Middle Schools: Bell, Mann, Wangenheim, Wilson.

High Schools: Mira Mesa, Morse.

* Schools exceeding maximum 30% of portable classrooms compared to permanent buildings:

Elementaries: Adams, Baker, Balboa, Bethune, Bird Rock, Birney, Boone, Brooklyn, Burbank, Central, Chollas, Edison, Emerson, Encanto, Ericson, Euclid, Freese, Fremont, Fulton, Gage, Grant, Hamilton, Hardy, Hawthorne, Horton, Jackson, Jefferson, Jerabek, Johnson, Kennedy, King, Knox, Lafayette, Lee, Lindbergh, Logan, Loma Portal, Marshall, McKinley, Mead, Oak Park, Paradise Hills, Penn, Perkins, Perry, Sherman, Sunset View, Torrey Pines, Valencia Park, Washington, Webster, Zamorano.

Junior High/Middle Schools: Bell, Challenger, Farb, Keiller, Wangenheim.

High Schools: La Jolla, Mira Mesa, Morse.

* Schools with less than suggested minimum acreage (6-10 acres for elementaries, 12 to 30 acres for middle level, 15-45 acres for high schools):

Elementaries: Adams, Balboa, Barnard, Bay Park, Bird Rock, Brooklyn, Burbank, Cabrillo, Central, Dewey, Edison, Florence, Franklin, Fremont, Grant, Hardy, Jefferson, Loma Portal, Longfellow, Mead, Ocean Beach, Paradise Hills, Perkins, Silver Gate, Washington.

Junior High/Middle Schools: Farb, Keiller, Wilson.

High Schools: La Jolla.