Kindergarten and first-grade classes show growth

School board holds first 2022-23 budget discussion

WINSTED — Since last fall, the kindergarten and first-grade classes in Winchester Public Schools have grown, from an anticipated 72 students to more than 90, officials said.

That “bubble” of primary school students is expected to grow even larger by springtime, according to Superintendent Melony Brady-Shanley — and will require more teachers in the coming year.

Brady-Shanley discussed enrollment as part of the Board of Education’s first meeting Monday night, held to set dates for the 2022-23 budget discussion meetings, presentations to the boards of finance and selectmen and public hearings, followed by the town’s annual budget referendum in May 2022. Attendance at Tuesday’s meeting included the school board, Selectwoman Linda Groppo and admininstrators from the school district.

“This is the first, initial meeting on our budget,” BradyShanley said, as she presented a calendar of dates to the board. “There will be a budget review workshop on Feb. 15, and a final meeting with the district finance committee on Feb. 22.”

From Feb. 28 to March 17, the school board is expecting to hold public presentations with district staff members, community groups and the Board of Selectmen. The budget is due to be presented to the Board of Finance on March 15, BradyShanley said, with a public hearing on the proposed spending package to be held in March.

District Finance Director Nancy O’Dea Wyrick said the 2022-23 budget is based on revenue from grants and town funding (tax revenue) totaling $23,055,816.

“This is our base amount,” Brady-Shanley said. “If we needed to go over or under this amount, this is the numbers we can reliably use to make our budget for 202223.”

“What I’m asking the (school board) to tell me is if we should have five teachers (for each of those grades), or leave it at four teachers.” Superintendent Melony Brady-Shanley

In March 2021, Superintendent of Schools Melony Brady-Shanley presented a proposed budget for the Winchester Public Schools totaling $20.6 million, a 2.99 percent increase over 202021, or $596,818 more.

The district will also hear from the Gilbert School in the coming months, as its board develops and proposes its own proposed spending for 2022-23. Last year, Gilbert’s budget totaled $7.8 million, which included tuition and capital improvements.

The biggest challenge for kindergarten and firstgrade classrooms, the superintendent said, is their size. The preferred maximum number of students in a classroom is 18; with increased enrollment, class size for grades K and 1 could be 21 students or more. If the budget includes four classes for kindergarten and four for first grade, the larger number of students will prevail.

“What I’m asking the (school board) to tell me is if we should have five teachers (for each of those grades), or leave it at four teachers,” Brady-Shanley said. “We’re expecting 84 kindergartners for the coming year; with five teachers, that’s 17 in a classroom. With four teachers, there would be 21 in a classroom.”

According to O’DeaWyrick, a fifth teacher would receive a salary of about $68,000 including benefits. And if a classroom has more than 18 students, the teacher is paid for those extra students.

School board member Cheryl Heffernan questioned the importance of class sizes during the meeting.

“Kindergarten classes need to be 18, is that right?” she asked.

“Yes,” Brady-Shanley said. “Kindergarten, grade one and grade two need that — it’s a 100 percent distinction.”

The younger children coming into the public school system need more guidance than usual, according to Batcheller School Principal Roseanne Field.

“There are some needs at that grade level — a strong need, to have smaller class sizes,” she said. “We’re managing them, but we have to provide for their individualized needs.”

Brady-Shanley agreed. “They need so much guidance and attention,” she said. “We’re seeing children coming in with very little social interaction and social skills, on top of the need to learn basic academics, because of their isolation during (the pandemic). It’s very different than what we’ve dealt with in the past.”

The school board members agreed to follow Brady-Shanley’s recommendations, based on input from teachers and principals at Pearson School and Batcheller.

“What we don’t know is how the other areas of the budget are going to be affected in the coming year, but this is what we’re working with at this point,” Brady-Shanley said.