15.1  Elementary

15.1.1        Restrictions The District shall comply with state-mandated limits on class size.

15.1.2        District Commitment The District shall attempt, recognizing fiscal constraints, to reduce class sizes below the state-mandated levels in order to assure better student-teacher contact.

15.1.3        School Staffing Enrollment Elementary school staffing shall be based upon the administration's projected end-of-first school month school-wide enrollment plus or minus a first-to-tenth month experience factor.

15.1.4        Staffing Allocation Ratios Elementary school teaching staff allocations shall be derived by dividing the school staffing enrollment by the District-established ratios for elementary schools. Such ratios shall be as follows:

Kindergarten - 30:1
Primary -30:1
Intermediate - 32:1

15.1.5        Maximum Class Size After the end of the first month of school attendance, the following class maximums shall not be exceeded for over a ten (10) consecutive teaching day period. Class size for each elementary school* in the District shall be based on the following class size maximums:

Kindergarten -32
Primary -32
Intermediate -35
Primary Combination Classes -30**
Intermediate Combination Classes -33

15.1.6        Legal Requirements When applicable legal requirements impose class size limits, the maximum class size should be either the legal limit or the Agreement limit, whichever is lower.

* Fallsvale school shall not be included.

** Any combination class including a primary grade level class shall be staffed at the maximum primary level.

15.2 Middle School All current contract language applicable to staffing and class size at the secondary level (subsection 15.3) shall apply to the middle school level.

15.3 Senior High School 9-12

15.3.1        School Staffing Enrollment Secondary school staffing shall be based upon the administration's projected end-of-first school month school-wide enrollment plus or minus a first-to-tenth month experience factor.

15.3.2        Staffing Allocation Ratios Secondary school teaching staff allocations shall be derived by dividing the school staffing enrollment by the District-established ratios for secondary schools, such ratios not to exceed 32:1.

15.3.3        Principal's Discretionary Sections The principal shall have at his/her sole discretion for meeting special instructional needs, a total of ten (10) sections. This number of sections shall be subtracted from the total school allocation before distribution to departments and must be used for instructional purposes. Wherever practicable, the principal shall consult with the Department Chairperson before allocating the sections.

15.3.4        Departmental Staffing Regular teacher staffing of departments will follow the guidelines below, based upon the administration's projected end-of-first and/or sixth school month enrollments for the departments:

15.3.4.1     Physical Education teachers will have a class size maximum of 55 and a maximum student contact number of 250 students per instructional day, unless the bargaining unit member accepts an extra period assignment and/or signs a waiver to accept a higher number of students.

15.3.4.2     Music shall be staffed at a ratio not to exceed 45:1.

15.3.4.3     Non-departmental classes will be staffed from the regular school-wide teacher allocation before application of the equitability factor described in section 15.3.4.5 below.

15.3.4.4     No sections from the regular school-wide teacher staffing allocation shall be allocated for the following student course requests:  Student Aides, Clerks, Assistants; ROP courses; Community College courses.

15.3.4.5     All other departments with the exception of those enumerated in sections 15.3.4.1 through 15.3.4.4 inclusive shall be staffed based upon an equitability factor. The equitability ratio shall be determined by dividing the projected total number of student course enrollments at the school minus the departmental enrollments listed in sections 15.3.4.1 through 15.3.4.4 inclusive, and those in classes where there exists physical or legal constraints, by the total number of authorized sections minus those used to cover the classes indicated in sections 15.3.4.1 through 15.3.4.4 inclusive at the ratios stated herein and those utilized to cover classes in which there exist physical or legal constraints.

15.3.5        Second Semester Adjustments At the sole discretion of the administration, second semester adjustments to departmental staffing allocations may be made utilizing the procedures outlined in section 15.3.4 of this Article.

15.3.6        Equitable Class Size Recognizing the constraints of the diversity of student needs to be met through the student course selection and scheduling process, the District shall make all reasonable efforts to maintain equitable class sizes among the various sections of the courses.

15.3.7        Departmental Flexibility The District and the Association recognize that there are benefits both to the educational program and to members of the unit to provide for flexibility with regard to staffing and class size within a department. Teachers within a department may determine, subject to the approval of the principal, class sizes within their department so long as student course requests are appropriately accommodated within the limits of the department's section allocation.

15.3.8        Departmental Maximums The maximum departmental ratios shall be as stipulated in sections 15.3.4.1, 15.3.4.2, and 15.3.4.3, above. For those departments covered in section 15.3.4.5, the equitability ratio shall not exceed 32 and the class size maximum shall not exceed 35 except when it is the decision of teachers in any given department to provide for greater class sizes in some courses to allow smaller sections in others, or to allow for the provisions of special course offerings, pursuant to 15.3.7, above, in which case those teachers assigned the larger class size courses must concur with the decision. Individual teachers may also agree to carry greater class sizes in exchange for smaller classes in desired subject or specific content areas. (See Class Size Waiver Form, Appendix F.)

15.3.9        Class Size Adjustments Within twenty (20) days after the beginning of each semester, if the maximum class size stated above is exceeded, the District will make adjustments by reorganizing classes within the staff of that school site. Following twenty (20) days after the beginning of each semester, class size will not exceed the maximum without the written request of the teachers as specified in 15.3.8 above.

15.4 Special Education:  "Mainstreaming" The District shall insofar as possible, equitably distribute "mainstreamed" special education students among like classes and course sections at each school site, and will give special consideration to the teachers of the classes which receive "mainstreamed" students. "Special consideration" in this Article shall be interpreted to mean the District's serious and consistent effort to establish class sizes in such a manner as to compensate for the increased demand upon teachers in meeting the needs of these special students.

15.4.1        High Impact Schools – Elementary Any elementary school in which the mainstreaming of special day class students exceeds the District average of mainstreamed special education hours per regular classroom by five (5) hours per week or more based upon the previous year's counts, shall be considered a "high impact school." Grade level staffing ratios at such school(s) shall be at least one (1) student less than the district-wide staffing ratios.

15.5 Specialists – Staffing Patterns In establishing staffing patterns for this section, the District will apply the following ratios:

15.5.1        Elementary – Librarian

One (1) for the District.

15.5.2        Middle Schools

15.5.2.1     Guidance Counselors One (1) period of counseling for each one hundred (100) students.* **

15.5.2.2     Librarians At least one (1) for the District, not to exceed a maximum of one (1) per school.

* GATE counselors not included in the ratio.
** Special project assignments are not included in the ratio.

15.5.3        Comprehensive High School - 9-12

15.5.3.1     Guidance Counselors One (1) period of counseling for each eighty (80) students.* **

15.5.3.2     Librarians
One (1) for each school.

* GATE counselors not included in the ratio.
** Special project assignments are not included in the ratio.

15.5.4        Continuation High School

15.5.4.1     Guidance Counselors The principal will assign a period of counseling for each forty (40) students.

15.5.4.2     Work Experience Educator Equivalent of one (1) for every one hundred twenty-five (125) students enrolled in work experience.

15.5.5        Guidance Department

15.5.5.1     Psychologists One (1) for every two thousand (2,000) students.

15.6 Changes in Specialist Staffing Ratios The staffing ratios described in 15.5 shall be maintained for the duration of the Agreement. If changes in the staffing ratios for specialist positions for the following school year in a successor Agreement are anticipated by the District, the District shall communicate its intentions to the Association by no later than April 1.

15.7 Maximum Class Size – SDC Special Day Class – 18