Parents in the New Hyde Park- Garden City Park School District’s Manor Oaks School are expressing increasing concern about the growth in class sizes that have resulted from the new state tax cap.
Manor Oaks PTA president Lisa Ugolini told members of the New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Board of Education at a recent meeting that parents were presenting their concerns to her.
Ugolini said that as the mother of a daughter entering a third grade class that will have 27 or 28 students in the fall she shared those concerns.
“It’s not just about the third grade. It’s about the community in general,” Ugolini said. “I think parents were concerned last year.”
She said the addition of one new student in mid-year bumped a second grade class with a teacher’s aide at Manor Oaks last year to 27 students. Another class had 26 students with no teacher’s aide present.
“I still felt that that was high for the lower grades. I felt that number was a bit high and I felt that 27 was too high,” Ugolini said.
She said New Hyde Park-Garden City Park Superintendent Robert Katulak told her he would add an aide this fall, based on expectations that the two third grade classes at Manor Oaks would contain 27 and 28 students, with the possible addition of another new student.
“If the numbers climbed be said he would be adding an aide,” Ugolini said. “I do realize the board’s hands may be tied. But if we don’t ask the questions, we might regret it at the end of the day.”
During budget presentations earlier this year, the school district projected average primary class sizes of 22 to 27 students with an average of 25 to 29 students in grades four through six.
Ugolini said her daughter complained about how noisy her second grade class was last year
“When you’re in such proximity, that’s more of a problem. The desks were very tight and they were on top of each other,” said Ugolini, a class mother who attended parties in her daughter’s class.
Katulak said he has sought to reassure Ugolini that the district administration and the board are sensitive to the situation.
“I told her we’re monitoring the situation closely. I and the board are prepared to put in a teacher aide,” Katulak said.
Katulak said he’s still trying to sort out what the final enrollment in the classes is going to be. But budget constraints don’t give him many options.
“When we proposed the budget, everybody knew that these classes were going to be on the high end,” Katulak said. “When your hands are tied by the state, there’s not much wiggle room.”
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
