School year begins with budget in limbo

BARSTOW • Summer officially ended Monday with Barstow students streaming onto school campuses by the hundreds and parents trickling into offices at the last minute to enroll their children.

A handful of parents are optimistic about what the new year will bring for their children. And principals at Lenwood, Crestline and Cameron elementary schools say the first day has been fairly smooth.  

But until the state adopts its budget, officials aren’t sure how the district will be funded. Also, class sizes at the kindergarten and first grade have increased, said Susan Levine, district superintendent. This is due to the school not receiving extra money from a state program as an incentive for keeping class sizes small, she said.

Instead of having 20 kindergartners and first-graders to one teacher, this year there will be about 30 students in the classroom, said Cari Mauldin, who begins her first year as principal at Cameron Elementary.

Another challenge the district has had to deal with, in addition to the budget, is declining enrollment. Currently about 420 students are enrolled at Crestline Elementary School, said Principal David Finch. Lenwood Elementary School has seen 451 students come through its doors Monday. And Cameron Elementary School has about 526 students so far this year.

“It’s a little low for us,” Finch said, adding that Crestline ended last year as the second largest elementary school in the district. “Usually we have kids trickling in over the next week.”

Officials don’t have an enrollment count for the district yet, Levine said. But, she said, students are returning back to the school district after attending local charter schools.

For a handful of family members, dropping their kids off at school was a relief after the long summer. Some, like Mae Carroll, whose grandchildren go to Montara, Lenwood and Crestline Elementary Schools as well as Barstow junior high and high school, have very few concerns.

“I think it’s going to go very well,” said Mae Carroll, whose grandchildren are currently attending Barstow Unified School District schools. “(I expect) some good grades and a lot of fun for the kids.”

Others like Michelle Haggard, who was picking her son, 3-year-old Andrew, up from the Pre-K program at Crestline and waiting for her 5-year-old Jermaine to be finished his first day of kindergarten, were looking forward to seeing them make new friends.

“I hope they learn a lot,” she said. “I look forward to having them have a good time.”

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(760) 256-4123 or jcejnar@desertdispatch.com