Overcrowding in schools has been a hot-button issue in education for years. The complaint is usually that some students get left behind academically among the crowds.

At Casa Loma Elementary School, however, the problem lies in bathroom lines, according to KGET Channel 17.

The school's site council is saying students have to spend their entire recess waiting in line to use the restroom. Some have even wet themselves.

Classes must take 15-minute breaks during class so students can drink water and use the bathroom.

Enrollment is at more than 800 students, an all-time high, according to KGET, and the council says the school was built for 500.

The Bakersfield City School District said it spent more than $800,000 on improvements to the school. Six other schools in the district are larger than Casa Loma, and five of those have fewer restrooms. There have been no complaints at those schools, according to the district.

What are your thoughts? What would be a good solution?

— Jorge Barrientos, Education Reporter

A Standard Middle School parent is upset that a teacher showed an "R" rated movie in her sixth-grader's class, according to BakersfieldNow.

The teacher apparently showed "Kung Fu Hustle," which contains cursing, violence and some nudity.

The school's principal said the teacher was showing the movie as a reward for academic achievement, but the principal acknowledged the showing of the film was inappropriate. The problem was being "dealt with."

What do you think? Is this a big deal? Would it make the difference if the "R" rated movie had educational value?

— Jorge Barrientos, Education Reporter

Shafter’s Golden Oak Elementary School on Thursday received $5,000 for physical fitness equipment and $1,000 for school supplies for winning the 2009 Governor’s Challenge, central valley region.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger launched the competition in 2005 as a way to get California K-12 students, parents and teachers more active, healthy and fit. The challenge calls for 30 to 60 minutes of exercise per day at least three days a week for a month.

The statewide competition runs through May 31. The grand prizes: new fitness centers valued at $100,000 each to an elementary, middle and high school. Other prizes include free lift tickets at Mammoth Mountain and 30 day passes to 24 Hour Fitness.

In June, three Golden Oak students joined 92 total statewide as finalists in the competition.  

For more information, go to www.calgovcouncil.org/challenge/new_Page1/

— Jorge Barrientos, Education Reporter

larger view

Cal State Bakersfield President Horace Mitchell will reveal in about a month which programs and departments will be cut to meet a $8.3 million budget reduction next year.

I spoke briefly with Mitchell Friday morning as I toured the campus with university spokeswoman Kathy Miller. It was a chance for me to meet university staff as The Bakersfield Californian’s new education reporter.

Mitchell’s shooting for a mid-December announcement for cuts, he said. Everything campus-related is being considered for the chopping block, including language programs and athletics.

The university is approaching the cuts strategically while thinking innovatively, Miller said.

“Everything is on the table,” she said. “We’re looking at this like the money is not coming back. Just isn’t just a budget cutting exercise. This is something we’re looking at strategically for the future.”

She added: “We don’t anticipate the money coming back anytime soon despite our best wishes.”

The cuts are taking place at a time when the university is growing. Freshmen applicants are up 52 percent. The university, however, is expected to reduce student enrollment by 6 percent next year, a state mandate. Winter and spring enrollment has been closed.

Meanwhile, faculty and administrators are taking a 10 percent pay cut in the form of furloughs. And tuition went up for students 32 percent this year. 

— Jorge Barrientos, Education Reporter