But public demand to control property taxes and fears that state school aid may be cut by as much as 15 percent next year have school officials concerned that staff may have to be cut to balance the budget..."

Press of A.C. ‘Tight funds raise class sizes that districts long sought to cut’

By DIANE D’AMICO Education Writer | Posted: Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Smithville Elementary School teacher Jenna Smith works with her sixth-grade students in a class of 28. Smith says a challenge of the large class size is finding time to work individually with students.

“It’s hard to move around,” Najae Ephraim, 12, said.

Click here to check class sizes by town, district and school

It is a tight fit. The room holds 28 desks and chairs, one horseshoe-shaped table and chairs and one buffet table and chairs for small-group instruction, two more tables topped with five computers, a cart with some laptops, a book case, and the teacher’s desk, tucked in a corner.

“Its the fourth configuration of the desks this year,” teacher Jenna Smith said. “I think this one’s working OK.”

It’s OK, but definitely crowded. With 28 students, Smith and Mark Bisignaro teach in one of the largest classes in the district, a situation necessitated by a large sixth grade and a budget too tight to add another class.

The average kindergarten through eighth-grade class size statewide was 18 to 20 students in 2008-2009 according to the state school report card. The small size reflects a decade of efforts, spurred by the No Child Left Behind law, to reduce class size and improve student achievement.

But public demand to control property taxes and fears that state school aid may be cut by as much as 15 percent next year have school officials concerned that staff may have to be cut to balance the budget.

“If they cut state aid 15 percent, we’d have to cut staff,” said George Papp, superintendent in rural Dennis Township, where class sizes have dropped into the teens. “There’s just no large amount of money anywhere else left we can cut. “

Galloway Township is already feeling the squeeze in the fifth and sixth grades.

“We decided last year we couldn’t increase staff,” Galloway schools Superintendent Douglas Groff said. “And we just had that discussion for next year, looking at who’s retiring and asking, ‘Do we need to replace them?’”

For large districts, the challenge is finding room for all students without adding staff. For very small districts the decision may be whether to combine two small classes into one big one to eliminate staff.

“It’s like a chess game,” said John Cressey, superintendent in Estell Manor, which has about 220 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and has tried to keep classes in the primary grades to about 20 students.

In high schools, the challenge is keeping small but vital programs, such as Advanced Placement and specialty electives that may have only 10 students in a class.

“You want to give students opportunities,” Lower Cape May Regional Superintendent Jack Pfizenmayer said. “But it does become an issue of how small is too small.”

The state Department of Education does not mandate class sizes for most districts.

But state code that takes effect in the 2010-11 school year requires that districts with 40 percent or more “at risk” students maintain class sizes of a maximum 21 students in kindergarten through third grade, 23 students in grades four and five, and 24 students in grades six through 12. At-risk is defined as students eligible for the federal free and reduced-price meal program.

Affected districts that do not comply can be cited during state monitoring.

“I know that,” Hamilton Township school superintendent Michelle Cappelluti said with a frustrated sigh. “But what are we going to do?”

The district’s at-risk student population exceeded 40 percent last year, and has continued to rise. The district also had an enrollment spike in fifth grade, reporting an average class size of 27.

“It’s more than likely we will have to reduce personnel next year,” Cappelluti said. “But we’re going to try to plan differently to keep class sizes as small as we can.”

Galloway and Hamilton both do some “team teaching.” The districts include students with learning disabilities in regular classes with a support teacher, rather than place them in a separate small class.

Bisignaro and Smith teach their sixth-grade class at the Smithville school as a team, though Bisignaro focuses on five special education students.

“It’s challenging,” he said. “There are also regular students who are right on the borderline, and they need help, too.”

Smith said the greatest challenge is trying to give each student individual attention.

“You just run out of time,” she said. “Even in small groups, if you have four or five groups it’s a stretch to get them all in.”

The students have mixed feelings about their big class. In previous grades they were used to about 20 students per class.

“It is crammed up, and it’s harder to get the teacher’s attention,” Emma Nickerson, 12, said.

But Eric Stobel likes having more friends in his class, and Carson Hessler said he likes working in the groups.

Still, Taylor Mooney, 11, said it can be noisy, and Dante Grasso, 11, said they run out of supplies.

Smith said the supplies budget did not increase with the class size, so she distributes paper and pencils judiciously. In past years, ordering 25 copies of a novel was plenty. This year she had to order a few more.

“You get 1,000 pencils, and that’s supposed to last the year,” she said. “But some kids need one every day. ”

Contact Diane D'Amico:

609-272-7241

DDamico@pressofac.com