Oregon City High School teacher warns of 40-student classes after schedule change and FTE cuts

At the public-comment portion of the meeting, Steven Tokarski, a social studies teacher at Oregon City High School and building representative for the Oregon City Education Association, told the board he and colleagues are seeing historically large class rosters and warned that upcoming schedule and staffing changes would make matters worse.

Tokarski said his classes this year "have consistently been over 35 students with several classes of nearly 40 students," and that a teacher survey showed more than half of high-school licensed staff reported their largest class sizes ever. He told board members that managing the individual needs of nearly 40 students is not feasible and raises safety concerns.

Tokarski explained the high school is switching to a semester schedule next year, a change he said has majority teacher support, but the logistical effect will add two to three students per class. He said the district also plans to cut two full-time-equivalent (FTE) positions in the building through attrition, which his presentation said would compound the increase in class sizes.

Tokarski said he has heard the district's recurring explanation that enrollment is declining and used as a basis for cuts, but he reported that OCHS enrollment "has actually barely budged" over six years. He warned that when school starts next fall, class sizes of 40 could become commonplace and urged the board to take action before staffing reductions become permanent.

The board did not take immediate action during public comment; staff and board members heard the concerns and the speaker said he would return if the pattern continued after fall enrollment stabilized.