The Carroll Community School District (CCSD) Board of Education has approved the creation of new classroom and special education positions. During their regularly scheduled meeting last night (Monday), interim Superintendent, Marty Fonley, explained class sizes are becoming too large at two elementary grade levels. According to him, new teachers will be needed to keep class sizes at a manageable level.
With a new teacher for each grade, kindergarten classes will be at about 21 students per room and third-grade sections will have nearly 23 students. Fonley also noted additional special education staff may be necessary at the high school, middle school and elementary levels. He said the number of students on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) has not increased, but the amount of time needed for each has grown.
High School and Middle School Principals, Tammie McKenzie and Jerry Raymond, explained that special education instructors at both locations tend to focus primarily on behavioral issues. They agreed with Fonley that they were not sure how impactful additional staff would be. Board President, Jen Munson, was concerned it would have a negative effect on the budget.
Fonley also proposed combining the half-time middle school and half-time high school Family and Consumer Science positions into a single full-time one and adding a new Title I elementary instructor due to an excess in state funding that would need to be returned if not utilized. The board voted unanimously on the creation of the five elementary positions but opted to table the decision for the high school and middle school special education positions until the April 29 meeting. They directed administrators to provide additional information on IEP students served in those buildings.
