It’s a sad song that will be heard in school districts throughout Nassau County, if it hasn’t been heard already.
Parents of children in three kindergarten classes expressed unhappiness about class sizes at a recent Herricks School board meeting. The board members told them there was nothing they could do about it.
The truth is hard to accept. Herricks Board President Christine Turner told the parents, “Times are different now. We are in total sympathy with you. Class sizes K though 12 are up for every school. This year it’s Center Street. Next year it could be Denton Avenue.”
Turner said the school board is hamstrung by financial pressures, in particular the new obligation to cover the cost of unpaid taxes due to property tax appeals in the district.
“This is the way we have to operate under these guidelines,” Turner said.
The school district has been forced to exceed its own guidelines of 22 students per class. The most recent budget cut meant that the board had to cut 12.4 teaching positions in order for the district to comply with the state-mandated tax cap. Two of those teaching positions have been restored.
The reality at the school board is a cold slap in the face. The teachers in the wealthiest county in America will be the first to admit that there are too many children in the classrooms, especially in the kindergartens.
“Something’s got to give,” said one parent, who the suggested the administration consider half-day kindergarten classes.
But this, like most solutions, creates a new set of problems. A half day would force some parents to quit their jobs.
We’d like to say we have the solution. We don’t. There may be cost-cutting measures that can result in a reduced class size or there may be new teaching techniques using electronics that will make teachers effective in larger classes. Perhaps there are untapped funding sources.
But no one should pretend that this problem is easily solved or that it isn’t coming to districts throughout Nassau County.
