MONROE — A decline in enrollment and the need to reconsider budgets led the Board of Education April 26 to proceed with the switch to seven kindergarten sections throughout the district for the 2021-22 school year.
The move opens the door for further discussions regarding elementary configuration and furthermore the potential reduction of a school psychologist position.
District enrollment has declined by approximately 600 students in recent years, and District Administrator Rick Waski thinks that the low enrollment may become the new normal.
“Now that we see the low enrollment may stabilize, we’re considering going to seven sections as our new normal with eight sections occurring when our numbers are high enough to suggest that that be necessary,” Waski said.
Because the board is determined to make staffing changes through attrition, the reduction of a kindergarten teaching position will be managed through staff reassignment, moving teachers around where necessary.
As discussions continue, BOE members will be voting on elementary configuration with the new reduction of a kindergarten section.
Currently, the district has three kindergarten sections at both Parkside and Northside elementary schools and two at Abraham Lincoln. The board heard four consolidation proposals and will likely vote on kindergarten consolidation at the May 10 meeting.
Three of the plans are built around a 3-3-1 makeup, with Abraham Lincoln having only one section. In Plan A, the 3-3-1 makeup is only for kindergarten, whereas Plan B goes through grade three with one classroom and Plan C has one classroom through grade five.
Plan D would leave Northside with three sections, but put both Abraham Lincoln and Parkside at two.
Though each plan puts the district at seven sections for kindergarten, the savings are not the same.
With Plan A, the district will save $159,000; with Plan B, it’ll save $509,000. Plan C will save $739,000 and Plan D will save $354,000.
Waski said that the board is likely to vote on a plan choice May 10, and that will open the door for further discussions regarding the reduction of a school psychologist position.
Waski brought an informational item to the board at the April 12 meeting recommending the reduction coincide with the departure of Parkside psychologist Carol Ninmer, who announced her retirement in March.
With Ninmer, the district is at 4.8 full time school psychologists, putting it 18th of 425 districts for the lowest number of students per school psych and 30th for spending on school psychs per student.
The reduction to four school psychologists would bring those numbers to 30th and 59th of 425, respectively.
When the district first changed from four to five school psychologists, it had approximately 2,800 students. Now, it has only 2,200.
If the board opts to go with Plan A elementary configuration with only one kindergarten section at Abraham Lincoln and to reduce to 4.0 FTEs for school psychologists, Northside Elementary, Parkside Elementary and the Middle School would each have a full-time psychologist on staff, while the fourth would split time between Abraham Lincoln and the High School.
Still, with uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 and over a year of related stressors and anxieties, some board members have expressed concern that school psychology is not the place to be making those cuts.
“When teens are in crisis, the first two minutes are the crucial period for these teens,” newly sworn-in board member Teri Ellefson said. “The kids deserve to have the help there.”
Waski and Pupil Services Director Joe Monroe feel that the district can continue providing the same level of mental health care to students with the reduction, but some non-metal-health-related tasks may need to be delegated to other staff members to do so.
“We’re going to focus on student mental health as the priority,” Waski said.
School psychologists currently pick up various tasks, such as test proctoring, that can be delegated to other staff to ensure that student mental health care remains the priority for school psychologists.
Though Waski hopes that the board will make a decision regarding elementary configuration May 10, he expects that the board may take more time to make a decision regarding school psychologist positions.
“I would suggest that the board take as much time as they need between May 10th and future board meetings to determine ‘where are we going in the next several years?’”
In other matters,
● Teresa Keehn, Phil Vosberg and Teri Ellefson were sworn in as members of the Board of Education. Keehn will be serving her second term with the board. Ellefson and Vosberg joined as first-term members.
● The Board elected 2021-2022 officers: Rich Deprez as president, Teresa Keehn as vice president, Tim Wolf as treasurer, Nikki Matley as clerk and Teri Ellefson as deputy clerk. Keehn will also serve as the Excellence in Education liaison.