Board resolute in support of early education

When it came to either helping support young students with special needs or easing an already stressed budget that will likely carry a deficit this year, the Cedar Grove-Belgium School Board didn’t waver.

The board last week unanimously voted to hire one teacher for kindergarten, 4-year-old kindergarten or early childhood, a 4K program for children with developmental concerns, to maintain class sizes at a desired level.

The board had been watching 4K numbers and earlier in summer wanted to get more solid information before making a decision. Enrollment in 4K can fluctuate, but over the past couple of months it remained at 70 students across three sections, about 23 per class.

That number is higher than the 48 4K students the district had last year, which Supt. Elizabeth Freeman said mirrors the uptick in the birth rate across the state four years ago.

A staffing and caseload analysis showed that the needs of students in the early childhood program are also on the rise, and the district’s EC teacher could use some support, Freeman said. Hiring another 4K teacher, ideally certified in regular and special education to be able to help with the early childhood program, would move class sizes back to the more palatable 17.

“When we all think of 4-year-olds, fewer of them in a class is easier than having lots of them in a class,” Freeman said, 

“This district has a history of having reasonable class sizes — 17, 18, 20.”

Securing help in the early childhood program, she said, would make a difference in higher grades.

“There is a lot of research and evidence supporting early intervention. When we get students at a young age and they get speech services or other services, lots of times they catch up with their peers,” Freeman said.

“So we invest early and make sure we catch them as soon as we can to get them what they need.”

Freeman brought three proposals to the board: hire a teacher, move a kindergarten teacher to 4K and have larger classes for 5-year-olds or wait until the state budget is finalized later in fall so the district has a clearer financial picture with an option to hire a teacher in January.

The board almost unequivocally supported hiring a teacher now.

“For me, it’s a no-brainer. You hire somebody right now. Our school is in a good financial situation,” board member Kurt Kraus said.

“Why wait and get a teacher that’s not as good if we hire later? Get your pick now. We have the fund balance if the state budget doesn’t go how we want it to. We don’t want to use that but it’s there.”

“Kurt, I think you’re right,” Board President Jeremy Spriggs said. “Waiting to hire somebody sets a precedent with new students. If the educators are getting overrun by new students, you establish certain behaviors and those are harder to take out of them than it is to start strong from the beginning. And it really doesn’t speak to our school district very well that we’re putting educators in a position that they’re fighting an uphill battle the entire time.”

District Business Manager Tera Rogers cautioned on the budget impact. A new teacher, she said, could cost as much as $75,000  including benefits, and this year’s budget — the fiscal year started July 1 but numbers won’t be finalized until fall — is expected to carry a deficit, like in many districts across the state this year.

“The board has hired me to protect the finances and help you make the best decisions. So when people look at me, ‘Well Tera doesn’t want to spend the money.’ Well, Tera’s doing her job,” she said.

The district may raise its levy and thus ask taxpayers for more money, but she said even raising that to the limit set by the state wouldn’t erase the deficit, which could be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Rogers said the district is in an “incredibly fortunate position” with its fund balance, essentially a savings account for unexpected costs.

“It’s just a slippery slope. It’s like a home when you start spending your savings,” Rogers said. “As a district, we take a lot of pride in doing what’s right for kids, and sometimes doing what’s right for kids does not match our checkbook.”

“None of us want to run a deficit,” Spriggs said. “There probably are some tough decisions coming up. We have the benefit of a very healthy fund balance. We can kick that down the road a little bit until we come up with a more solid plan of how we want to address funding shortfalls.”

Rogers also warned the board that hiring a new teacher could force it to lay someone off next year.

“Attrition is wonderful,” she said. “But we can’t bank on it.”

While hiring someone certified in regular and special education is ideal, the district may have to pay more for that person. Rogers said nearly every new staff member negotiated for their salaries this summer.

“People are coming in and asking for money. If you want them, you have to pay them,” she said.