Amherst elementary schools face fewer classes, teachers

BY Bob Dunn
Staff Writer

Published on February 16, 2007

Less classrooms holding more students who will be taught by fewer teachers is the uninspiring scenario that Amherst elementary schools will face next school year, according to a memo released in advance of tonight's Amherst school committee meeting.

Art, music, physical education and computer classes will all be affected as will central office and student support staffing.

In addition, prices for staff and student lunches will increase.

Even still, all of that may not be enough: If all of the proposed cuts are enacted as planned, the schools will have to find an additional $13,637 to trim from the budget.

The Amherst school district, like the regional schools and all other town departments, is being forced to submit a budget that holds to a 1-percent increase over last year's.

To maintain the same level of services from last year, the elementary budget would need to have increased by 4 to 5 percent. And to meet that goal, the elementary schools will need to trim more than $700,000 in net costs from their collective budget.

Because there are $261,000 in additions that must be incorporated to various parts of the budget, the total amount of cuts actually adds up to just over $1 million.

Those budget additions include $10,000 for aide training, more than $40,000 for new furnace converters, $96,000 for the creation of eight part-time literacy positions and $100,000 in contingency salary for two classroom positions, should fluctuating enrollments require additional staff.

Class size maximums will be raised in all grades: 23 for grades K through two, 25 for grades three and four, and 27 for grades five and six. According to the memo, most of the classes will not hit those numbers, but will remain in the high teens and low 20s.

Meanwhile, the number of classrooms spread throughout the four Amherst elementary schools will drop from 70 to 66. English Language Learner and psychology services will see positions reduced or eliminated as well, mostly through staff turnover, retirements or current vacancies that will not be filled, officials said. In all, the equivalent of 2.35 full-time music teachers are tentatively going to be cut along with 1.35 art teachers, 1.1 computer teachers and one physical education teacher.

Most positions within those classes aren't being eliminated outright, but "shaved," said Amherst School Committee member Elaine Brighty, to allow the schools to provide as much of the instruction as they can and still satisfy the budget requirements.

Full-time instructors in those classes will be offered the opportunity to stay on, but part-time positions will be reduced or eliminated, according to the memo.

Because of the shortened elementary school day on Wednesday, that day will be used only for academic classes. Art, music physical education and computers will only be taught one day per week each on the remaining school days.

Brighty said that classes like art and music are frequently targeted for cuts because eliminating those teaching positions usually has less impact on class sizes than eliminating classroom teachers.

Despite being listed as "tentative," Brighty said that these cuts are forthcoming.

"This is the list," she said. "Something might shift a little, but these are the cuts."