Overcrowding and Funding Perry Langley & Rachel Foreman (Tierra Redmond & Claire Barbieri)

What is Overcrowding? Defined by thefreedictionary.com as “A state of being filled with more people or things than is desirable” Generally- means more than capacity, usually around 30+ students in one room with one teacher “Overcrowding occurs when the number of students enrolled in the school is larger than the number of students the school is designed to accommodate. When overcrowding occurs, it may contribute to the wear and tear on schools.” –National Center for Education Statistics

The Problems of Overcrowding There’s not enough space A lot more distractions An obstacle to learning Not enough one-on-one time with instructor

Funding for Schools Sources: local, state, and federal tax dollars Historically: local property taxes, state income, sales tax Property taxes are a prime source, which changes the wealth of the school.

Research: National Center for Education Statistics A survey was sent out about overcrowding and building conditions Formula for overcrowding: X= (total enrollment– capacity of permanent space) / capacity of permanent space 19% below 25% capacity, 33% from 6-25% below, 26% were within 5% capacity, 14% was 6-25% greater, 8% exceeded 25% ½ under, ¼ near capacity, ¼ over capacity 43% indicated that they had at least one environmental factor-unsatisfactory Overcrowded schools twice as likely to report problems with at least one building or part of facility

Budget Crises & Overcrowding Overcrowding is usually a problem when there are funding problems Usually coincides with not having money, resources, adequate classrooms Urban classrooms, places like California (LA) and NYC have reported having serious issues with overcrowding 1/3 students in California are in an overcrowded classroom, 212 classrooms in Queens overcrowded It is hard to say that overcrowding is the source of learning problems/underachievement in urban classrooms, lots of other factors It is hard to measure effects of overcrowding without being subjective

Urban Classrooms New York City: Elementary School maximum is 32 students, Middle School is 33, High School is 34 Start lunch around 10 am to accommodate everyone Having to use other spaces as classrooms: cafeterias, gyms, etc. California: other problems, large Hispanic population (not always fluent English speakers)

Budget Cuts in Indiana The state of Indiana was having budget problems, decided to cut money from the School Systems (Mitch Daniels) Cuts hit January 2010, $297 million (3.5% of state funding, 2.7% of funding from other sources) “Citizen Checklist”- ways to save money without laying off teachers, administrative pay was frozen Also cuts from state agencies and universities

Discussion Questions If you were in charge of an overcrowded school system, what would you do to remedy the situation? Do you have any first-hand experience with overcrowding? If you were a teacher in an overcrowded school system, what could you do to better accommodate your students?

Interviews: President of MCCSC School Board How is funding connected to overcrowding? -“Simply, the budget that is funded by the state- General Fund, is 90% 'people'...teachers and staff. When the state reduces support schools must look for ways to save...and balance their budgets....which is a state mandate...there is no other choice! These cuts manifest themselves in staff reduction...plain and simple, which ultimately adversely affect class size.”

Interviews: Dr. Janice Bizarri Perry’s Elementary School principle, serves on boards for Funding and Board of Foundation (7-8 years), School Day Committee $ ,000 lost, actively involved in going door-to- door getting signatures for referendum, helping to interpret what that means for kids in the school system No Child Left Behind- created incredible strains on test scores, said they are in the 30 th percentile compared to West Lafayette schools- 80 th percentile Overcrowding- not so much a problem, could be in the future if funds are cut further Committed to learning, not so much teaching to the tests- reading coaches and “preventionsists” (individual attention), increased the school day to ~8 hours

Interviews: Dr. Janice Bizarri (continued) How do you think overcrowding affects student performance? –Negatively, but having lots of success with “preventionists” and reading coach Not a Title I school, doesn’t get extra funding, has found ways to put aides in classrooms- Kindergarten

References: "Executive Summary, Condition of America’s Public School Facilities: 1999." National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of Education. Web. 31 Mar "Most Recent - Indiana Economic Digest - Indiana." Indiana K-12 School Funding Cuts to Hit in January 2010.” Indiana Economic Digest, 29 Dec Web. 31 Mar Phillips, Anna M. "Union Claims Highest Number of Oversize Classes in Decade." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 Sept Web. 31 Mar claims-highest-number-of-oversized-classes-in-decade/. claims-highest-number-of-oversized-classes-in-decade/ "The Crisis - Overcrowding." Just Schools California. Web. 31 Mar