In a year when class sizes stretch to unacceptable numbers (nearing 30 in some elementary schools and surpassing that in some middle and high school classes), the BOE is set to finish the 2018-19 school year with a $1 million surplus in the budget for teacher salaries.

From the BOE Finance Committee meeting minutes of January 14, 2019:

The budget is holding steady. We continue to forecast that we will have approximately $1M in the teacher salaries line available for transfer, and can utilize these monies to mitigate the costs of special education services.

Click here for a letter published in USA Today discussing the impact lower class sizes have.

Had that money been used as intended, and not as a rainy day slush fund, it could have paid for approximately 14 full time educators. Additional teachers could have been hired to open extra sections where class size was unusually high. It could have been used to hire instructional support, or paid for much needed SPED teachers or social workers.

The budget for the 2019-20 school year is being finalized and is expected to be voted upon at the March 6 BOE meeting.

Advertisement