Mount Greylock Committee Demands Smaller Class Sizes
 School Committee member Heather Williams made the motion to approve hiring additional staff to help reduce class sizes. |
The School Committee voted Tuesday to increase its teaching staff by the equivalent of an additional full-time worker. However, the motion was more symbolic to show Superintendent Rose Ellis that members are committed to lowering class sizes and that they will fully support the hiring of more teachers to do so.
The full-time equivalent (FTE) can be split up anyway Ellis wants — meaning teachers can get paid to teach additional periods or the district can hire.
The issue was presented per the request of School Committee member David Langston, who said last October he was shocked to see large class sizes. But at that point, the committee had little time to address the situation. Langston requested a projected enrollment list and again was upset to see classes with more than 25 students in them.
"The problem we had last year when the School Committee was asked for lower classes sizes and it turned out when we were given the October report, when it was too late to do anything about it, we saw some outrageously large class sizes," Langston said, adding that preliminary reports for this year are too high as well. "My questions are mostly with the middle school. This is raising a red flag because on Page 3 [of the report] science 7 and science 8 have 27 and 28. There is a similarly large number in English."
School Committee member Heather Williams added that there will also be high numbers in languages. Her concern was not with electives or Advanced Placement courses, because those students are "motivated," but with required classes.
Shortages in physics and math are currently being addressed, Ellis said, with the hiring of one new math teacher. Interviews are also being done for a physics teacher as well as a second math teacher. However, even with the additional FTE, Ellis said it will be an uphill battle to hire new teachers.
"There are a lot of hoops so a lot of people are saying they'll look elsewhere," Ellis said of the recent search for mathematics teachers, citing certification standards imposed by the state. "The fact that we found two qualified math teachers in one month is amazing."
Additionally, the class sizes will change dramatically in the next few weeks, Ellis said, once students return to school, so the current report is not entirely accurate. Last year was also a surprise because the school had seen a last-minute influx of enrollment, she said.
Despite the explanations, Ellis said the administration could do a better job in reducing the numbers. The School Committee voted in favor of the additional FTE as a sign that they will pay the extra money to lower those numbers.
Overall, enrollment is expected to be just short of 600 students this year, Ellis said.
"Instead of our numbers going down, they are going up," she said. "We had so many inquiries that we had to turn some people away."
There are 19 additional school-choice students from places including Stamford, Vt., and South County. There are also 14 additional students joining the ninth grade — a mix of school choice and students from the private Pine Cobble School.
As far as budgeting for the the additional classes, the committee was told Tuesday that the financial situation is looking very strong as the school year opens.
David Donoghue of the Management Solution, the company hired to manage finances, said that in closing out fiscal 2012, many accounts will have "significant balances for the future" — such as the excess and deficiency, school choice, revolving accounts and circuit breaker.
"All in all, the good news is that we are well positioned moving forward," Donoghue said.
The reason behind the "significant balances" is revenues being $97,000 more than anticipated, he said, particularly with state reimbursements. Reimbursements for charter school transfers and regional transportation came in much higher than planned.
Tags: enrollment, MGRHS, school budget,
