Proposition 98 Funds, Ratios

There you go again.

In your editorial you have misled the public once again. The article stated that the teacher/student ratio is 23 to 1. There are two reasons why this figure in inaccurate: First, a teacher in high school teaches five periods per day with one conference period. The conference period is factored into the formula when the master schedule is devised by the administration, increasing the ratio of students 26 to 1. Second, some special elective classes may have as few as 15 or 20 students in a class. The discrepancy in these ratios must be absorbed by other teachers in the department.

I am a teacher in what is considered an outstanding school district. Our professional organization has negotiated a contract ratio of 30.5 students per teacher; however, with the conference period, this computes to 33.5 and up to 35, considering special classes. Since Proposition 13, our class size has reached 175 per day with the possibility of 35 students per class. Our salaries are contingent on the number of students per class; this type of funding is unjust.

I am completing my 30th year in the teaching profession. I have two more years before retirement. For the first time in my career I have experienced a stable funding law with the passage of Proposition 98.

ROLAND R. RUTTER

Irvine