Shelton schools to hire teachers, raise tutor salaries to address class sizes

The plans call for hiring two certified staffers and creation of the retention and recruitment program for tutors.

SHELTON — Larger than desired class sizes in several schools have district officials planning to hire two teachers and creating a retention and recruitment program for tutors by offering bonuses to tackle the problem.

Superintendent Ken Saranich proposed the two options to the Board of Education at its meeting Wednesday in response to the high class sizes that may exist in any of the city schools.

The board approved Saranich’s plans, with the vote coming before pleas during the meeting’s public portion from parents — many with students in Booth Hill School, where parents have complained that class sizes in some grades are as high as 28:1 or 29:1 — to have the city better fund education annually. As of Friday, Saranich said the district had made offers to two teachers, one of which accepted and will begin at Sunnyside School next week. The other position, which remains open, is for Booth Hill School.

“As a community, can we really not figure out how to fund a handful more teachers and have a budget reserve for such situations?” said Melissa Hanas, a parent of a third grader at Booth Hill School, where she is also a PTO board member.

“The proposed two new staffers are much appreciated however, this alone does not adequately solve this current problem,” Hanas added. “Tutors are not the answer either.”

The plans call for hiring two certified staffers and creation of the retention and recruitment program for tutors. The purpose of the retention and recruitment plan is to make the district’s financial offerings competitive to nearby school districts.

Saranich said the plan would allow for new tutors to earn a “signing bonus” for joining the Shelton schools, and additional monthly payments while on staff. Hourly rates would also be made more competitive to nearby districts.

“I’m excited about this,” Saranich said. “I am confident that if we fill all our vacancies, we can deal with class sizes K-12 across the board.”

Saranich said the district is appropriating $65,000 for each new certified teacher hired. The additional money will be covered by savings from the retirement incentive program in place at the end of this past fiscal year.

The incentive plan will pay tutors for each complete month of employment a bonus of $250. The bonus will be pro-rated for incomplete months of employment. The hourly rate for tutors is $22 per hour and will remain the same with the incentive bonus.

Currently the district has 14 vacancies — five paraprofessional and nine tutors. All positions are posted for application and interviews are on-going.

“I believe we have the funds to support the two teachers and the retention and recruitment program” in the present 2022-23 fiscal year budget, according to Saranich, adding that there is no reason to go to the city for more money.

“If we were fully staffed in all departments, I believe we would not feel the impact of these class sizes,” Saranich said.

These moves come as the district has a better handle on its enrollment for the present year, but Saranich admits that numbers can fluctuate daily as families move in and out of the district.

Parents took to social media in the initial days of school, voicing concerns about large class sizes in some elementary schools.

Earlier this month, Hanas created an online petition, calling for parents to join her in demanding more funding to hire teachers to cut into some class sizes that stand at 28 or 29 students to one teacher.

The petition, which received more than 400 signatures in just a couple hours, states student teacher ratios in some classrooms are 28:1 or 29:1.

Hanas was joined by several parents Wednesday in calling for more funding for the school system so issues such as burgeoning class sizes do not even become a problem.

“Our children and teachers deserve better,” Hanas told the board. “They have already endured the impacts of the COVID pandemic and catch up is much needed. It is time for a change. I implore you to review the city budget and determine how to best properly fund education.”

Booth Hill School parents and PTO President Sara Wilbur said she is frustrated the city has been unable to properly fund the hiring of enough teachers.

“We are lucky to have excellent teachers in Shelton … we just need more of them,” Wilbur added. “We need to do a better job of providing them the materials they need, and lower the burden of large class sizes, by providing additional teachers and support within the schools.”

Wilbur also called on the board to establish strict mandates on class size, in which additional teachers are required, not suggested, once a class size reaches a certain level. She said that Shelton’s current guideline is 30 students, which she called “unacceptable.”

Hanas said, speaking on behalf of 400 other supporters, “we would like the classroom sizes to be made publicly available at each of the city elementary schools for transparency.”

She said the district needs more full-time certified teachers now.

“I also suggest changing the future contract language to hire more teachers once class sizes hit low 20s rather than high 20s,” she added.

Wilbur called on the Board of Education to work with the mayor’s office to “do the right thing and properly fund education in a way that provides additional teachers to reduce large class sizes. I hope that if funding is provided, that it is an add to the budget, and does not take away from another line item that likely is already spread too thin.”