The update is the first in ten years to the district’s class size policy.
At last Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, the board passed changes to the district class size policy on first reading. The update is the first in 10 years to the policy’s language.
The new policy states class sizes in elementary grades “shall generally not exceed” 25 students and not exceed 22 students in kindergarten. Under the new policy, the superintendent must notify the Board of Education at its next meeting if a class size falls outside of the outlined range. Under the current policy, the superintendent is not required to notify the board or public when the class size exceeds guidelines.
Board member and chair of the policy committee Brandon Pugh said the district follows the policies set out by Strauss Esmay, LLP, and the changes up for approval at Tuesday’s meeting represented the policy provider’s most recent updates. He said the district’s current policy is vague, and the update adds some clarifying language.
Pugh said the new policy is more “transparent” because the superintendent will have to come back and notify the board if class sizes are exceeding guidelines, which has not previously been the case.
“As a board, I think it’s fairly important for us to know what class sizes are,” Pugh said.
Moorestown Education Association president Lisa Trapani said her major concern is the policy adds the word “generally.”
“We don’t see how eliminating the class size cap benefits the district at all,” Trapani said.
Trapani said she anticipated the board would want to respond that they are not eliminating the class cap.
“I have been told many times in my lengthy career, ‘well this isn’t our intention,’ and a year later, I’m seeing what wasn’t the intention in front of my life,” Trapani said.
She said the district is growing and will continue to grow based on the ongoing news coming out of township council regarding housing in town. She said she didn’t understand how the policy is more clear, transparent or strict because the superintendent has to inform the board that class sizes have fallen outside of the guidelines. Trapani said the MEA requested the board maintain the current policy.
Pugh said if the board felt strongly about changes to any wording in the policy, the policy committee would take that under consideration before the change is up for second reading.
Trapani said she would be “more than happy” to set up a committee of elementary school teachers to express what the term “generally” means to them in regard to class size.
The next Moorestown Board of Education meeting will take place in William Allen Middle School on Tuesday, May 15 at 7 p.m.
