Economy hurting area high schools

After the first month of school, it is clear that the economy is not helping anyone.

Tim Azevedo, the Superintendent for Anderson Union High School District, said Shasta County is down 600 kids, because 200 went to charter or private schools and 400 moved out of the area. He said many parents need to relocate for jobs and some are moving in with relatives.

Even though enrollment is down, only 1,839 instead of the projected 1,900, the distrect has not had to cut programs.

"We have shrunk the programs, by lowering the number of teachers per program, an example of this is the agriculture program offered at Anderson, which is smaller, but still there," said Azevedo.

The district is also closely evaluating the ability to offer classes, such as Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

"We are currently using polycomm between Anderson and West Valley so we can offer AP World History. The economy is affecting our ability to offer this class to 15 - 20 students per class, so class size is going up," said Azevedo.

Another change is not filling or waiting longer to fill support staff positions. According to Azevedo when the Director of Maintenance retired last year, he stepped into the role in order to save money and help out the budget.

Transportation is another area feeling the pinch. The Golden Triangle was introduced this year to help cut down on transportation costs due to athletic participation in the Anderson and Redding areas. For games outside of this area buses will be available, but for the first time in the AUHSD buses will not be available to charter athletes to local games.

"The Shasta Union High School District (SUHSD) has been doing this for many years, and while we are always concerned about the kids getting into an accident, we have placed a number of precautions in place and will be monitoring it," said Azevedo. "We will be using Shasta Union as a guide and if we have any problems, we can turn to them for help."