Westwood School Committee Addresses Inflation in Class Size

The Westwood School Committee voted to hire an additional teacher to the Martha Jones Elementary School for the 2010-2011 year to accommodate for the unexpected increase in students per class.

Originally, the school department expected to see about 23 to 24 students per first-grade class at Martha Jones, according to Superintendent John Antonucci, who addressed the issue during a presentation at the School Committee meeting on Thursday, June 17.

But nearly ten new students moved into town during the school year, he said – bumping the number closer to 25 or 26 students per class.

While the school department has no intention to turn students away, Antonucci said, 26 students could potentially be the breaking point for space within a single class at Martha Jones.

"We're left here with the question of, 'What do we do now?'" he said.

To solve the problem, he suggested adding a teacher at the first grade level at Martha Jones to lower the class numbers. The mere mention of adding staff drew applause from several in attendance, as well as praise members of the School Committee.

"I think we're all in agreement that that's a wonderful idea," said Committee Chairperson Josepha A. Jowdy. "I think it makes sense."

Committee member Ellen Mason made a motion to add one additional teacher into the budget for the first grade at Martha Jones, but suggested the committee consider adding the teacher at the kindergarten level if it seemed more appropriate as the school year nears. She also raised concern over how the department would pay for the new teacher's salary.

"Budget wise, we've been talking about having a very tight fiscal budget," Mason said. "If we do decide to fund another teacher, is this something we can accommodate in the budget?"

Luckily, Antonucci said, the school department would not have to rely on the school budget to pay for the salary. Rather, he said, the money would come from turnover budget from normal retirements and resignations.

"I feel very confident that we have enough money in the turnover budget to fund the position," he said. "There is money available to fund this."

The School Committee also acknowledged a spike in students at the middle school level – enrollment will be at an all time high next year, with a projected 745 students.

At the sixth-grade level, students will distributed evenly with an average of 27 students per class, while the averages for grades seven and eight are closer to 23 and 25 students per class, respectively. Adding to that, nearly 30 percent of classes will have at least 26 students.

Committee member John O'Brien said the issue should not be overlooked, saying that a smaller class size would mean less distraction amongst students. In addition, Mason questioned whether the department would be able to address the issue at the middle school level before the start of the school year in September if they receive the funds to accommodate for the large class sizes.

Antonnuci said unfortunately things are too far along with the school's curriculum to make any necessary changes at the middle school level.

"Adding stuff there now would just fundamentally change the schedule," he said, adding that the department will continue keep an eye on how to solve the issue at the middle school.