(Glenview, IL) District 63 layoffs swell class sizes

[UpInArms]

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/gv/09-23-04-388125.html

Budget cuts have resulted in class sizes that approach 40 students this year in some East Maine School District 63 classrooms.

Sept. 8, the School Board got a six-day enrollment report that broke down elementary class sizes by grade level. The data show that at least 17 elementary classrooms in the district have from 30 to 36 students. And those numbers don't include any special education students who may be mainstreamed into a class for a portion of the school day.

Mary Russotto of Niles told the School Board class sizes are "a disaster" at Nelson, where she said her daughter shares a third grade classroom with 38 other students in the afternoon.

"This year I hardly recognize our schools," Russotto said. "My kids come home wondering why there isn't enough room for them in class. We have excellent teachers in our district, but how much can we expect them to do after we overload them with students?"

<snip>

More than 40 full-time and part-time teachers were dismissed at the end of the 2003-2004 school year after the School Board opted to enlarge class sizes in order to cut $3 million from its budget.

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What was that "Leave No Child Behind" stuff about? Tax cuts on the Fed level equate to tax hikes on the local level. There are no tax cuts that justify this.

Are we better off than we were 4 years ago?

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. And Glenview is an affluent area.

No Child Left Behind was bad legislation from the start.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. bush was the education president before he wasn't