By Brian Anderson
Valley Times

May 29, 2000

LIVERMORE — Nearly a decade after brutal budget cuts claimed their jobs, guidance counselors may again soon be prying students from academic jams and doling out tips on career futures to Livermore students.

Long desired by both students and parents, counselors were added to the initial draft of the district's strategic plan for the future, released last week. While this plan listing 11 goals and more than 60 ideas on making them happen will surely be whittled, students, school principals and board trustees alike are eager to reintroduce counselors to their former habitat.

"It is one of the things I had heard from parents and students since ... day one," said Superintendent Lorraine Garcy, who joined the Livermore district a little more than a year ago. "It's one of our priorities."

The last task in a six-point plan penned to bolster community service and highlight career-mindedness, the return of counselors would take place over a three-year period.

One career counselor for Livermore High and one for Granada High would be brought on for the 2000-01 academic year. Two more, who would split time among the district's four middle schools, would be added the following year. A final position, geared toward alternative school students, would be created for the 2003 school year.

Costs of counseling

The five positions would cost the district about $300,000, which would come from the general fund.

Making the price tag easier to swallow for district officials is Gov. Gray Davis' promise to dramatically boost school funding in the coming year. Livermore leaders eagerly anticipate the prospect of spending more of this discretionary money, specifically on programs -- including guidance counselors -- lost to budget cuts in the early 1990s.

In that era, then-Gov. Pete Wilson erased millions from school budgets, including $5.7 million from Livermore's. School guidance counselors, while liked in concept by board members at the time, were thought to be too expensive; they were axed along with music and sports programs.

Longtime board trustee Anne White, who said during those lean years that much-needed funds could be better spent on more crucial programs, welcomes the new proposal.

"Nobody ever said we didn't need counselors," White said. "If the money is coming from the state, we certainly could use some for counselors."

Schools have adapted since the cuts, adding advisement periods to help steer students down the right path. At the high schools, crisis counselors visit with students in an outreach effort geared toward personal problems.

The cost of cutbacks

Still, said Vicki Scudder, principal at Junction Avenue Middle School and a former counselor, the loss of a specific person to talk regularly to students about their future has come at an immense price.

"It's just a huge void right now, Scudder said. "We've missed them desperately.

Calling the lack of guidance counselors an enormous problem, Kathleen Azevedo, whose sons Ben and Tony attend Livermore High School, said students simply are not getting the information they need to make decisions.

The problem, she said, is that school administrators were assigned to counselor roles in the wake of cutbacks. Administrative duties steal their time, she said, leaving students to fend for themselves.

"The students come in, they make an appointment ... they come back and the administrator is not there for any number of terrific reasons," said Azevedo, who volunteers at Livermore high. "It's always something very worthwhile, but they're not there for the students. Students told me the other night that it's simply not worth going in there."

A dependable presence for the kids, Scudder said, is invaluable.

"I know it is a cost item, but I think we would willingly say that it's a high priority for us and we hear our community saying that it's a high priority for them," she said.

Supply and demand

Where there is a lack of supply in packed modern-day schools, a new breed of students parched for information on higher education produces overflowing demand. In a survey drafted in June, graduating seniors indicated they would have benefited by having a guidance counselor.

Of the 281 Livermore high students who returned the 22-question poll, 123 -- nearly 44 percent -- said they would have valued a counselor for guidance issues. At Granada High, that number was 87 of 208 students who responded.

When combined, 409, or 82 percent, of the 489 graduating seniors who took part in the survey said they could have used a counselor to discuss personal issues, for career guidance or both.

"They feel disconnected," Azevedo said. "The lack of specific information is amazing."

Students, to be sure, have not been locked out of opportunities or left without advice. Busy or not, high school administrators have handled the crush of students while dealing with their other responsibilities, said Granada High Principal Kevin Drake.

"I can safely say that no one has come back to me and said 'because we didn't know' or 'because you advised somebody wrong, my son or daughter could not or did not get into this school,'" Drake said. "They're getting the opportunity for information."

Getting information is not as easy as it sounds, said Livermore high senior Andrew Pleva, whose academic adviser also happens to be a very busy principal.

"It is very difficult to get a hold of her to work on a schedule," said Pleva of principal Sheila Cooper. "They do try their best to fit you in and everything because they kind of have to, but it's very difficult.

"If they (read) that I said that, I'm sure they'll say, 'We're always available for you guys.' But you know what ... no they're not."

Cooper agreed, saying a bulging student body of nearly 2,000 is an academically tough row to hoe.

"It is very difficult to serve the needs of the kids and be an administrator at the same time," Cooper said. "I want the students to get the level of service they need in making their plans after high school. We do the best we can, but the best we can is not always good enough for those kids."

The school board is scheduled to vote on a finalized strategic plan June 6.