Board OKs Portable Units, More Teachers

City school district officials, who have said they hope to reduce class sizes in the first three grades by the fall, have outlined specifics of how they will reach their goal.

The Westminster School District Board of Trustees has approved a plan to hire 55 full-time and seven part-time teachers, and to spend $2.1 million on 42 portable classrooms.

To take advantage of a state bill passed earlier this month, the district must reduce class size to no more than 20 pupils per teacher by Feb. 16 to receive nearly $2 million, or $650 per student.

The state funds will cover all but about $427,000 of the cost to hire the new teachers, officials said. The district will take money from its general fund to make up the difference.

Interest that has accumulated from a district savings account will be used for the portable classrooms, which cost about $50,000 each, officials said.

“Over the last few years, we’ve made some tough decisions and been able to create a fund for this purpose,” Board President Nancy L. Blumenthal said. The district hopes to be reimbursed by the state for about half of the portable classroom costs, she said.

The portable classrooms will be delivered at the rate of about three a week beginning in October, Deputy Supt. Barbara Winars said.

Until the new units arrive, elementary schools will use team teaching, rather than staggered schedules, to achieve the desired 20-to-1 student-teacher ratio.

“Team teaching looks like the plan that will work best for everyone, without being disruptive to parents and their schedules,” district spokeswoman Barbara Hoopes said.

The district’s primary grades now have about 30 students in each class. Under the proposed scenario, an extra teacher would be brought in for every two classrooms, Hoopes said.