Each of its three 3rd grade sections usually accommodated up to 27 students, but with the creation of a new section, each class will now have 19 students.
Acting school principal Glenn Muna yesterday said “oversized” classrooms have always been their main problem.
To accommodate the new section, the room designated for bilingual program will be used by the additional 3rd grade class, he added.
A portion of the cafeteria may accommodate bilingual students, he said.
Oleai has three bilingual classes whose instructional materials have to be stored in the main office.
Muna expects to see more students in the 4th and 5th grades and each of their classes may have 26 students when school opens in September.
The school’s 1st to 3rd grades will have four classes each, but the 4th through 6th grades will continue to have three sections each.
As of yesterday, the school’s enrollment figure was 506 but Muna projects to have 520 next month — a slight increase from last year’s 496.
He said the school has already filled the 60 slots of its kindergarten program and placed about four children on the waiting list.
The school has 25 classrooms and its reading resource center is housed in the library.
Muna said their storage room has been transformed into a classroom.
Despite the anticipated problems as a result of limited funding, Oleai is ready for the new school year, the principal said.
It has 23 classroom teachers of whom 18 are considered highly qualified.
“We have enough teachers to accommodate the anticipated enrollees,” Muna said.
Since summer, school buildings have been repainted and classrooms have been repaired. Ground maintenance is ongoing.
Muna said the donated 117 new desks will be used in the new school year.
Yesterday, Sorensen Pacific made an educational tax credit donation of $2,236 for the school’s immediate needs.
Muna said in the last school year, Oleai received a budget of $29,000 for operational expenses which they used in procuring supplies, drinking water, fuel for vehicles, maintenance and minor repairs.
He praised the active involvement of parents and teachers in funding the other needs of students.
Among the school’s anticipated challenges this school year are utility payments, Muna said.
They will have to limit the use of air-conditioning units, he added.
