Good Evening,
My name is Katti Bachar. I’m a science teacher and instructional coach at LHS. I’m also the LHS building rep for the D128 Federation of Teachers. Tonight, our Union is here to express our grave concerns regarding the proposed reductions in Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions within our school district, and the profound impacts these reductions will have on our students. As representatives of the dedicated professionals who serve D128 students every day, we cannot overstate the severity of the situation.
Last Monday, Paul Karnstedt spoke to the Program & Personnel Committee about the district’s plan to reduce certified FTE. At that meeting, administration noted that there was only a 1% decrease in FTE. Our Union would like to clarify that the 1% reduction in FTE sounds very low because it is based on the entire certified staff, including non-classroom educators. When the reduction is calculated by general classroom teachers only, the School Board is being asked to cut 5% of our classroom teachers. The proposed reductions in FTE will hit general classroom teachers the hardest, and that is also where it will be felt by students the most.
This will have a widespread and deeply felt impact. The Board is being asked to cut 3.1 FTE. This will be the first time since 2018 that a tenured teacher has been reduced to part time. Additionally, teachers are being shuffled around and given teaching assignments for next year in different departments that are not in their area of expertise. Veteran teachers are being asked to commute, and many teachers will have brand new preps. Now to be clear – we believe in our teachers and know that if you are certified in something, you can teach it. We know that our members will do their above and beyond to deliver the best possible education to our students. But the reallocation of teacher assignments is happening at a much higher rate this year. Is it fair to our students, that in a year of rapid change, and potentially an increased level of academic support required, that we will have more teachers than ever teaching new curriculum?
In addition to this, we would like to emphasize that it is course requests, not necessarily enrollment of students, that determines class size. The 5% decrease in classroom teachers and a course request decrease of 1.7% do not match. We are concerned that our class sizes will only continue to rise. Optimums are determined by Appendix F in our negotiated teacher contract.This school year, we are seeing 11-12% classrooms above optimum class size. Our district average previously was around 6.5% classes above the optimum class size since the 2014-15 school year. If you decrease teachers more than your course requests decrease, you can expect to be well above that average again. We want to continually advocate for what research consistently shows us. Smaller class sizes and adequate support staff are critical factors in student success. By reducing FTE positions, we are compromising the quality of education our students receive and jeopardizing their future prospects.
Additionally, during Monday’s discussion, Board member Cara Benjamin asked if there were any trends in classes being over the optimum. We were frustrated to hear the Administration say that these overages were across the board. This is untrue. We came with data to our January 18th Labor-Management Committee, and we shared that our College Prep and Honors Levels courses were trending at a much higher rate of being over the optimum than other levels. We also shared that the Math and English departments across the district had been hit harder with classes over the optimum, and again, at a higher rate in the college prep level than anywhere else. We also brought this data to the January 30th Board of Education meeting, in order to inform the School Board to avoid the difficulties we are discussing today. We came to both the Administration and the School Board in an effort to address a problem, and it feels like our concerns were dismissed.
Last Monday, School Board Member Kara Drumke asked in regard to the proposed FTE cuts, “What is being eliminated? And what does this look like for the student body?” We don’t have the big picture yet as the Administration has not yet shared any data for the 2024-2025 school year, but from what information we have gathered, we have answers that look like this:
- Briant Kelly reported that students requested to take 37 courses that Administration has decided will not run, some of which have as many as 14 students who signed up for them.
- French 1 is not running next year at LHS. Students who were not able to enroll in French at their middle school, can never take French, and do not have equal access to upper level French classes in D128.
- 9 students at VHHS were turned down to take the class called American Studies next year, and the remaining 50 students who requested this popular English-Social Studies double class will be in one section with 2 teachers.
- One AP English teacher was told that his section will have thirty students.
- Next year at LHS, there are only two sections for Auto Tech 2 with 44 students in a space only meant to hold 20 students per class.
- At VHHS next year, AP Music Theory will not run.
- Computer Science Honors is not running at LHS next year This is a prerequisite to our AP Computer Science classes, so this effectively puts an entire program at risk.
- At VHHS 13 students ready for the STEM Capstone class will not have a class.
- 13 VHHS dancers will not be able to pursue Dance 3.
These are only a few examples that have been discovered, and along with staff reductions, this all will undoubtedly lead to more courses over their optimum numbers, reduced individualized attention, and diminished access to essential resources and support services for our students.
We ask the School Board to reconsider its acceptance of the proposed staffing plan and to explore alternative solutions to address budgetary challenges. Our students deserve better than the diminished staffing plan, and it is incumbent upon us to prioritize their needs above all else. We urge the school board to listen to teacher voice to find creative solutions that preserve the integrity of our Blue Ribbon Schools and ensure that every student has equal access to a high-quality education.