Dear fellow Hanoverians:
Per some follow-up questions to my earlier e-mail regarding the potential
school budget cuts, I am writing to offer two pieces of additional
information and a correction.
Below please find the projected class sizes for the elementary schools next
year if and/or when the budget cuts go through:
Center/Sylvester enrollment: Total = 554
K: 95 (15, 16, 16, 16, 16, 16)
1: 105 (21, 21,21,21, 21)
2: 110 (22, 22, 22, 22, 22)
3: 128 (25, 25, 26, 26, 26)
4: 116 (23, 23, 23, 23, 24)
Cedar enrollment: Total = 407
K: 56 (14, 14, 14, 14)
1: 62 (20, 21,21)
2: 92 (23, 23, 23, 23)
3: 105 (21, 21, 21, 21, 21)
4: 92 (23, 23, 23, 23)
The School Committee’s own guidelines for maximum class sizes at the
elementary level are 20 children at the K – 2nd grade level and 23 children
for the third and fourth grades. You can see that all of the first, second
and third grade class sizes at Center/Sylvester will exceed those guidelines
and some of the 1st grade and all of the 2nd grade class sizes at Cedar will
exceed those guidelines if the current enrollment does not change.
Further, due to incorrect information received by ATOTW, please note that
there was a minor error in the budget cut e-mail that was sent yesterday.
While the projected class sizes in third grade for next year at
Center/Sylvester are alarming, it is actually a 4th grade position that will
be cut (not a third grade position as previously mentioned). The large
third grade class sizes are due to an enrollment "bubble" at next year’s
third grade, as you can see above.
Finally, in a separate but related issue, due to the projected cuts in the
athletic budget, user fees at the high school will increase dramatically
next year. This year, students pay $265 per student per year to play a
sport, with an $80 surcharge for the three more expensive sports – hockey,
football and basketball. Next year, the projected user fee will be $475 per
student per year with the same additional surcharges. Freshmen sports will
remain intact, but also at these user fee levels.
Please be aware that any or all of this information may change due to budget
changes at the state or federal level this spring. Many thanks to the good
folks of the school department for their time and patience with me as we
endeavor to get this important information to you.
For "Around Town on the Web",
Cathy H-B
"Around Town on the Web" is a community service that has been provided to
self-selected residents of the Town of Hanover since the spring of 2004. If
someone forwarded this message to you and you would like to receive these
communications directly, please e-mail your first and last name and e-mail
address to cathyhb@atotw.com . If you would like to be removed from this
distribution list, please e-mail your request to me at cathyhb@atotw.com .
For submission guidelines and answers to frequently asked questions about
"ATOTW", please go to www.atotw.com . To search for archived "ATOTW" news,
just go to https://atotw.com/archive .