By Jessica Wasmund<br><a href="mailto:jessye.wasmund@journal-register.com">E-mail Jessica</a>
Following the second budget meeting of the Medina Board of Education, Acting Superintendent Albie Suozzi recommended the board go through with Phases I and II of its budget process — which included eliminating a number of teaching positions throughout the district.
“Can someone give me a sound, educational argument of why you want to increase class size?” inquired Joseph Byrne, eighth-grade social studies teacher. His question was met by silence.
A number of teachers spoke up against the possible cuts, arguing in favor of smaller class sizes and their colleagues.
Phase I consists of eliminating four full-time core teachers — including math and science — from the seventh- and eighth-grade levels, half from guidance and half from life and careers in Wise Middle School. At the high school level, proposed cuts included one full-time teacher in both the art and technology departments, as well as half to the guidance department. Phase II would eliminate one cleaning person and two aides, districtwide.
The cuts to teachers would realistically result in larger class sizes for many of the students.
“When you look at the middle school, when you start to reduce teachers, those classroom sizes increase, and that shifts the way the schedule is put together,” Suozzi said. “Where you saw those once-small classes, they were accelerated or AIS. So now that we’ve shifted, we have to take a look at these classes ... to determine how to get these kids the extra services they need.”
High school principal Wes Pickreign said the students have already made scheduling requests for next year, and eliminating a teacher in both the technology and art departments would force the children into taking classes that may not have originally been their first choice.
“We have a pretty good idea right now for the specials, as far as numbers,” he said. “I have a little over 200 kids signed up for art and technology classes that we’ll have to figure out what to do with (if cuts are made). Hopefully we’ll be able to get them into other classes; but our concern is, will they be in classes they’re interested in?”
Tim Lincoln, an eighth-grade science teacher, spoke up in defense of smaller class sizes.
“I can tell you first-hand, it’s a lot better to have 14, 15 kids in the classroom than 20,” Lincoln said. “There is a loss you will incur by changing sizes. I would like to see the cost figures of keeping those teachers on. This is a pivotal time in these kids’ lives ... we should weigh the options. I know for a fact, some of these students are not going to achieve the same level in a 20-person classroom than they would in a 14-person classroom.”
Bronwyn Green, an eighth-grade English teacher, said she informally asked her own students their preference on class size. Out of 70, only six said they would rather have a larger class.
“The kids we see every day aren’t necessarily the same kids we saw in the 1980s,” Green said. “A lot of kids here have issues at home.”
Eric Hellwig, an English teacher at the high school, agreed, saying the changing economy has also changed the way many children grow up.
“They’re not coming in with the same set of social skills,” Hellwig said. “They’re not coming in knowing how to interact with each other or other adults. We’re seeing the ramifications of that right now at the high school level. If the school is what the community has, we have to keep it as good as it is.”
Other cuts in Phase I included a reduction of resources to various departments, including BOCES, the arts and sports departments and curriculum development. For more information on the district, visit the Web site at www.medinacsd.org.
The next budget meeting will be at 5 p.m. April 7 at the district office.
Contact editor Jessye Wasmund
at 798-1400, ext. 8225.
