Parents want more teachers for 3rd grade

Several parents spoke out Wednesday at the Hamilton School Board meeting, asking the district to hire another third grade teacher.

A parent said the class of 51 students had three sections in second grade last year. There are two third grade teachers. Divided in two sections, that makes class sizes of 25 and 26 students in a room; divided by three makes classes of 17 students.

“In third grade students start taking standardized tests,” said a mother. “The large class size is not going to be good for the students or teachers.”

Another mother asked if the rooms are logistically large enough to have 25 or 26 students in them.

After listening to several comments, board President Doug Summers said, to be fair, the parents should hear the other side of the issue.

“We want students to learn,” he said. “The board has discussed this. Third grade classes across the state have 25 to 30 students per class and are doing fine. Unless there are special needs students, there is not a particular red flag about these numbers.”

Debbie Summers (not related to the board president), a mom in the audience, said as a nurse, she knows there are more and more students in schools diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder and ADHD, with hyperactivity.

“I don't disagree with everything said tonight,” said Superintendent Dr. Jim Jackson. “We will continue to monitor the numbers. Are we going to hire another third grade teacher tonight? Probably not.

“We are at a serious budget time. We are operating at a deficit. Those factors go into consideration.

“The earliest time a decision could be made (to add a third teacher for third grade) is after registration,” said Jackson. “We can add a teacher after registration (Aug. 7 and 8). Registration will give us a better idea of a student count. It's also possible to hire a teacher after school starts, though that's harder on students and parents. Everyone wants another teacher, but no one wants to change classes.

“If enrollment warrants it, we will hire another teacher.”

A parent asked what number that would be. Debbie Summers asked to see a copy of the district's 2008-2009 budget.

“There's no magic number,” said Jackson in response to how many students would warrant a third section for the class.

“We are working on our budget. It will be on display to the public for 30 days. Anyone can come to the office and ask for a copy. It's a public document.

“It's not that I wouldn't love to add another section,” said Jackson.

A parent said she'd heard a grant application had been started to help pay for another teacher.

“I don't know about a grant,” said Jackson. “I'll check.”

Another parent said the kindergarten class had three sections last year. She asked if the school would keep having the problem of fewer teachers.

One mother said larger classes also raise safety issues.

“My son was put on the wrong bus last year,” she said. “It was 30-degree weather. He was taken to the wrong house where no one was home.”

Doug Summers said the board is generally open to having small class sizes for kindergarten because of the students' young age.

A parent said the first grade class has 48 students and asked would that class have two or three sections.

“I don't know,” said Jackson. “Would I recommend 16 students per class? No. We have a $280,000 budget deficit. The average class size in Illinois is 26 to 28 students.”

Jackson also said the state has pulled the annual hold harmless money out. Hamilton School District had been receiving a boost in state aid based on previous enrollments after enrollment declined. Jackson said the district will not get $160,000 in hold harmless state aid.

Parents pointed out that concerns about money will hurt their children's education.

Board member Mark Menn said he wanted to clear up a misconception.

“Last year, Tasha Elliott came to us, asking us to hire an extra teacher,” said Menn. “We wanted to give those second grade kids a push-start. We had three sections to help out. That extra teacher would then be put in Mrs. McMillen's class after she retired. That was the intent of the board all along. We hired an extra teacher for one year.”

Board member Tim Hempen asked the parents what they considered a good number for class sizes.

“Obviously, not 24,” said Hempen.

Responses came back 18 to 20 students, especially if there are special needs students in class.

Jackson said the state allows up to 35 students in a class.

“We also have teacher aides in the classrooms,” said Menn. “The state mandates aides for certain students, certain classes. We can't get rid of some of the aides to save money. As a board, we struggle with this balance each year.

“Every student is worth whatever we can do.”

Doug Summers told the crowd the board appreciates the concerns and parents attending the board meeting.

“Just because we are not hiring a third teacher now does not mean you've not been heard,” he said. “We will take it into consideration.”

Debbie Summers asked if Jackson has talked with the third grade teachers.

“Last year, they had 21 students in class,” she said. “They had some tough times with those numbers.”

Jackson said he had not talked with the teachers about this issue.

“I've been an elementary principal before,” he said. “I know how it works. We have to balance using resources as prudently as possible.

“There is no significant statistical study out there to show classes of 15 students do better than classes with 25 students. They may get more other needs met, but academically, there's no difference.”

Jackson said the elementary students will still have the resources of special education, Title I, after school tutors and direct communication between parents and teachers through the Web site.

Hamilton receives about $100,000 annually in Title I funds for the elementary students.

“The state has not been consistent in its funding of education,” said Jackson. “If any of you have individual questions, please contact me. I'm here all July and August.”

Later in the meeting, when the tentative budget was on the agenda to be reviewed, Jackson said there were discrepancies in the education fund he needs to track down. He asked the board to wait until next meeting to review the 2008-2009 budget.

The budget needs to be certified by Sept. 30 and has to be on public display for 30 days prior to certification.

“We'll review the budget Aug. 20, put it on display and have a public hearing and formal adoption Sept. 17, so we have plenty of time,” he said. “I expect our EAV to increase 5 percent in the district.”

The EAV, property valuation, is the basis for taxing.