Parents Air Frustration Over Class Size

DAYTON - The Dayton School Board voted Wednes- day night to hire a full-time para-professional to work with the now too-large fourth grade class and leave the kindergar- ten classes at half-day status.

The decisions were based on recommendations by Superintendent Doug Johnson.

The Dayton School District started the 2012-2013 school year with 12 fewer students then budgeted, com- ing in at 430 full-time enrollment students, which caused the district budget to be lower than expected, according to Johnson.

The budget reduction made the long-term sustainability of an additional fulltime teacher for fourth grade unfeasible.

Despite the seemingly large reserve budget, money the district has saved isn't a vi- able solution for the long-term, Johnson said.

Two parents of fourth- graders, Kim Boggs and Jasmin Helm, spoke in defense of splitting the fourth grade class into two classes. Both parents expressed their frustration over the extra large class size.

Boggs said she thought the board was too focused on possible situations, avoiding the more-pressing current situation. Johnson said the board could do anything for one year by dipping into the reserve funds to make any solution work, but it would put the dis- trict in a potentially dangerous situation they may not be able to bounce back from, Johnson said.

Helm said she has received several emails from other con- cerned parents discussing the issues of having such a large fourth grade class. She said she would consider the class size to be an issue of overcrowding.

"I've heard the budget doesn't allow for another cer- tified teacher because of the need for safety in the budget in case of emergencies," Helm said. "And I would have to say, this is an emergency."

Board Chairman Steve Martin said he has worked with schools that don't have a reserve like Dayton's and it can lead to frustrating and upsetting situations, like borrowing from the transportation budget to make payroll.

"hellip;The truth of the matter is we won't be able to sustain (an extra certificated staff member) next year," Johnson said.

He said the staff members also looked at changing classes at the high school level to free up a teacher or the budget for a teacher for the elementary school, but the shuffle would require dual math classes with one teacher or taking a high school instructor and getting an emergency certificate to al- low him or her to teach fourth grade.

Johnson stressed that using the reserve fund is the last thing the board and staff want to do.

"When (the reserve) runs out, it runs out," Johnson said.

Kindergarten teacher Sue Yenney said if kindergar- ten was full-day instead of half-day, she would need an additional para-professional for assistance in the morning and the afternoons as well as a strategy to recover her preparatory period.

The board voted to ac- cept Johnson's proposals for the kindergarten and fourth grade plans.

Board member Marchand Hovrud stressed that in the future the board and staff members need to plan farther ahead to avoid situations like this.

"The important thing here is, the problem solving doesn't stop here," Hovrud said.