Port Washington BOE discusses class-size reductions, budget trade-offs and proposed removal of pre-K counselor

Trustees on the Port Washington Union Free School District Board of Education on April 8 discussed efforts to reduce elementary class sizes for 2025–26 while balancing budget and facility limits.

Community members said smaller classes are urgent; multiple parents urged the board to adopt lower policy maximums rather than rely on annual budget choices. Ally White, HSA co‑president, told trustees that "adding 72 pre‑K students to the daily counselor's caseload is not comparable" because many pre‑K families have limited English proficiency and other onboarding needs. Jessica Milwani and other parents also asked how McKinney‑Vento work will be reassigned if the pre‑K counselor position is cut.

Interim Superintendent Dr. Shields and trustees discussed a recommendation to fund "up to three" FTEs so most elementary classes would be at least one student below current policy maximums for 2025–26. Trustees and administrators repeatedly framed the options as two levers: changing policy maximums (a governance decision) or allocating budget dollars to hire staff (a budget decision). Trustee Deborah Brooks said changing policy without committing money could be "misleading," while Trustee Julie Epstein described adding one FTE as a "happy medium" and supported continuing the multi‑year conversation.

Board members and speakers described the tradeoffs. Trustees noted facility constraints at some schools could limit how many additional sections could be created even if funding were available. Several trustees said they prefer to continue the administration's path of targeted FTE additions rather than changing the written class‑size maximums now; they asked administrators to refine summer enrollment analyses to target resources equitably across buildings.

Parents and other speakers pressed the board to plan for projected growth tied to local residential development. Nicole Leonard Syscanic described two Manor Haven projects she said will add apartments in Guggenheim's elementary district and urged the district and community to engage with local zoning and developers about future capacity impacts.

On the pre‑K counselor role, parents described the position's duties beyond counseling: onboarding families into ParentSquare, helping with emergency contacts and school supplies, delivering age‑appropriate social‑emotional lessons, and coordinating transitions to kindergarten. Trustees and administration said questions about reassigning McKinney‑Vento duties, stipends or training for staff who assume those responsibilities, and the staffing impacts across buildings remain under review.

Speakers also raised classroom technology and supply tradeoffs related to the pre‑K program. A parent asked why district‑issued iPads and charging carts are provided to three‑ and four‑year‑olds and whether reassigning carts (20 carts costing about $24,000 total; removing four carts would save roughly $4,000–$5,000) could free resources. Trustees said a scheduled May presentation on technology pedagogy will address device use in pre‑K and in early elementary grades.

The board asked administration to continue detailed budget and facility analyses over the spring and summer, and to forecast the impact of adding 1–3 FTEs under a range of enrollment outcomes. Trustees said they expect administration to present how proposed hires would be targeted, which buildings would be affected, and how McKinney‑Vento responsibilities would be reassigned if the pre‑K counselor position is eliminated.

The board did not change policy 44‑20 at the April 8 meeting; trustees agreed to continue budgetary and summer‑enrollment work and to return to class‑size decisions as part of final budget adoption scheduled for April 22.