Superintendent: Failed Override Vote Would Raise Class Sizes

Superintendent Kathleen Bodie painted a bleak picture Tuesday of what a failed override vote would do to .

She told the School Committee that 40 classroom teaching positions would likely have to be cut if the fails, as areas outside the classroom, such as materials budgets, have already been stripped to the bone in recent years.

“As we reduce school budgets, we can no longer keep the classroom from being affected,” Bodie said.

The cuts, if implemented, would raise the average class size at the elementary-school level to 27, the middle-school level to 31 and the high-school level to about 30, she said. The largest class size at the elementary-school level could reach 34, she added.

In recent years, Bodie said, the district’s elementary school enrollment has increased, while the number of elementary school classes has decreased.

“It’s a disturbing pattern,” she said, “but one that we’re faced with.”

If the override vote passes, the district would be able to provide level service with a $47.2 million budget, meaning all of the district’s teaching positions would be maintained. However, a failed override vote would leave the district with a $2.6 million shortfall, which would result in the proposed cuts.

Bodie said 17 classroom teaching positions, including one reading teacher, would potentially be cut at the elementary-school level, 12 classroom teaching positions, as well as a handful of support positions, would likely go at the middle school and 11 classroom teaching positions and other support positions would be on the chopping block at .

The superintendent’s office would also lose a few positions, she said.

Students in all grade levels would lose one-on-one time with teachers, among other disadvantages, such as reduced physical education for fourth and fifth grade students, a shift away from the cluster model in seventh and eighth grades and more scheduling conflicts at the high school, Bodie added.

Bodie’s entire PowerPoint presentation will be posted on Wednesday on the district’s website.