Fourth-grade teacher Deanna Giovannetti surveys her class of 34 at Hoover Elementary as the students labor over assignments that range from art to math.

As she bends down to help a pupil, 9-year-old Phillip Bolton scurries from table to table, querying fellow students about the day’s math assignment.

"I was asking for the page number for math because I didn’t hear it," Phillip explains.

Giovannetti’s students say they have become resourceful at obtaining answers to their questions when their teacher is occupied with other students.

"She is busy," Phillip says. "Even when she calls on you, it’s hard to know who she is pointing at because there are so many people."

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Giovannetti’s class is more than twice the size experts recommend for elementary students, according to organizations such as the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

The class illustrates a statewide trend that could determine the path of Oregon’s future economy, educators say.

"Public education and work force development are pivotal components to the economy and attracting and retaining business," says Chip Terhune, spokesman for the Oregon Education Association. "One of the core principals of public education is to give everyone the opportunity to succeed, and that opportunity can be threatened for some students in large classes."

Average class size has been climbing steadily in Oregon in spite of a large number of small rural districts, such as Pinehurst with an average elementary class ranging from eight to 10.

Between 2001-02 and 2003-04, the average elementary class size in Oregon increased from 22.7 to 23.6, according to the most recent statistics from the Oregon Department of Education.

Oregon had the fourth-highest pupil-to-teacher ratio in the nation, trailing only Arizona, California and Utah in fall 2001, according to the most recent report by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Unlike class sizes, which tend to be higher, pupil-to-teacher ratios factor in all teachers, including music, speech and Title 1 teachers, who may not instruct students all school day.

Jackson County school districts have some of the highest class sizes in the state with growth in every district but Rogue River since 2001-02.

Medford has the largest average class size in the county, set at 29.6 in 2003-04.

The 2004-05 average is expected to be greater, as Medford slashed $6.2 million from its budget that year as a result of diminished state funding, says Superintendent Phil Long.

The state has not yet released class-size figures for 2004-05.

Hoover Elementary teachers Giovannetti and Marilyn Reppert say they became teachers to make a difference in children’s lives.

Burgeoning class sizes have hindered their ability to do so, they say.

"The disadvantage is not being able to get to students’ individual needs," says Reppert, who has the largest class of her 13-year teaching career this year at 34. "At this school, we are very lucky we have parents who are able to come in and help us with reading and other things."

Research indicates small class sizes, between 13 and 17 students in primary grades, lead to better performance in math and reading, especially among minorities and low-income students.

Funding ultimately determines class size, and for districts in Jackson County, funding has been falling.

The state funds public schools according to enrollment. Dwindling enrollment exacerbates large class sizes. For each student a district loses, its funding declines by nearly $5,200.

The Medford School District’s student body has declined by 510 pupils since 2002, the equivalent of $2.6 million in funding.

At the same time, high class sizes are often one of the main factors parents cite for withdrawing their children from public schools, educators say.

Medford residents Paul and Danna Gibson recently withdrew their children, sixth-grader Megan and third-grader Ben, from Lincoln Elementary in Medford and enrolled them in Sacred Heart School, a private Catholic school on the city’s west side.

While they were fond of the staff at Lincoln Elementary, they say they worried program cuts and large classes would compromise the quality of their children’s education.

"The fact that music and art and a lot of things that used to be part of public school have been cut so severely, we felt our kids weren’t getting the experience my husband and I had in school," Danna Gibson says. "We decided we wanted a smaller environment."

In Ben’s classroom at Sacred Heart, third-grade teacher Barb Busch introduces a film on Martin Luther King Jr. to her class of 17.

The students sit at three tables intimately arranged at the front of a large, colorful classroom.

Seated on a stool a few feet away, Busch is close enough to make eye contact with every student.

"This class is smaller than my last class," Ben says. "It was 29 at my old school.

"I get more attention from my teacher now, and my mom likes it better. It has a better education."

Declining students and shrinking funding bodes ill for the future of public education, Reppert says.

The only solution, she says, is for the community to press lawmakers to fund education adequately and consistently.

"The kids can’t wait," she says emphatically. "They’re growing up as people are arguing about money. If other things fall by the wayside, so be it. Every child deserves a good education."

Reach reporter Paris Achen at 776-4459 or e-mail pachen@mailtribune.com.