Teachers' dim future: budget cuts, cramped classes

When Jay LaViolette tells people he's a public school teacher, the reactions range from disinterest to sympathy.

In his fourth year teaching in San Francisco's Visitacion Valley Middle School, he is far from the highest paid among his friends and, on top of that, he lacks job security.

It is a tough job that's getting harder, he said.

He's right, the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning said in a state report released Monday.

In fact, the state is facing the gloomiest outlook for the teaching profession in a very long time, said Margaret Gaston, president of the Santa Cruz center.

Budget cuts have boosted class sizes by up to 10 children. Teacher aides, counselors, nurses and other classroom support positions have been eliminated. Job security is a problem, with 14,000 teachers laid off last year, according to the study by SRI International.

"It's dire and reflects the budget crisis that has been building," she said. "These budget cuts have absolutely showed up in the classroom."

The number of people wanting to be a teacher also has dropped dramatically, with 45,000 students statewide enrolled in teacher preparation programs, half the number of seven years ago.

Laws of supply and demand

With a $28 billion state budget shortfall predicted for the next fiscal year, school officials expect to mail out more pink slips in the spring. Still, at some point demand for teachers is going to surpass the supply, Gaston said.

A third of the state's 300,000 teachers are older than 50, and with fewer people earning a teaching credential, schools could struggle to fill teacher slots within the next few years.

"It's somewhat counterintuitive, but we're looking at a teacher shortage in the future," state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said. "I hope I'm wrong."

'Very tough times'

Budget cuts have hit recruitment and retention programs, with struggling new teachers getting less on-the-job training and support even as they are placed in the schools with the neediest students, according to the study.

Too many of those new teachers quit the profession, making the problem of fewer incoming teachers more acute.

"These are very tough times for teachers," Gaston said.

Still, LaViolette loves his job.

"Being around the kids and seeing them learn is so rewarding," he said.

Yet, the pressure to perform - boosting test scores every year despite the budget cuts - is frustrating, he said.

"We're constantly being told our school may be closed down, that we're not good enough," he said.

Schools filled with struggling students who consistently perform poorly on tests face state or federal sanctions, including the reassignment of staff members. At the same time, a national debate is under way over if and how to assess teachers' performance based on those test scores.

"It is not hard to understand why many teachers feel under siege," according to the report. "What was traditionally seen as a secure and respected profession seems less so now."

That worries district officials who fear that they could soon face a dearth of qualified teaching candidates, as they did in the 1990s.

"You cannot underestimate the power of the grim news of layoffs," San Francisco Unified spokeswoman Gentle Blythe said.

Avoiding future shortages

The district has worked to buffer itself from any future teacher shortage, partnering with local universities to help train future teachers, who are then placed in district schools. In addition, district officials recruit and hire incoming teachers early, grabbing the top candidates with annual starting salaries of $50,000, higher than most neighboring districts thanks to a city parcel tax.

"The bottom line is you make the best of what you got, you hire them early and you get them before anybody else does," said district Chief Administrative Officer Roger Buschmann. "I'm confident that we'll be able to fill our jobs."

Other districts might not be so lucky, Gaston said.

"The dilemma is that we are facing a very shallow pool of prospective teachers," she said. "It is going to be a rough ride."

E-mail Jill Tucker at jtucker@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle