Overbooked Kids Bumped From Elementary Schools

Dozens of youngsters are getting kicked out of overenrolled Northern California elementary schools two weeks after the first day of classes.

As many as 40 kids at Novato schools were told Friday to say goodbye to new friends and head for another campus.

Novato Unified School District officials were betting some enrolled students wouldn't show up for school and they overbooked several elementary schools to ensure there would be 20 students in each kindergarten through third-grade class.

Twenty students are the threshold for maximum state funding for class-size reduction, and it meets the teachers union contract for teacher-student ratios.

Other districts limit enrollment to spots available in classrooms rather than overbooking. Then if they don't have enough students when school starts, they combine classes and bump the extra teachers, rather than the students.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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