Officials defend proposed reductions to elementary special-area staffing; administrators say studentsprogramming preserved

District staff told the Wallingford School District Operations Committee on Jan. 30 that a proposed staffing plan would reduce 1.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions in elementary special areas and not replace two recent retirements (one middle-school art position and one world-language position). Staff said the changes are driven by districtwide enrollment declines and the number of unutilized instructional "sections," not by a targeted removal of a specific program.

"I do not agree with reducing those positions," Caroline Reyes, vice chair of the operations committee, wrote in a statement read into the record. Reyes said last meeting she had questioned the middle school schedule and expressed concern that, under the new schedule, some students could "go through their entire middle school career without being able to take an art class." Her letter asked for clarifications on specific budget lines including elementary parking increases, insurance cost for Board-owned vehicles, and the districts grant-selection process.

Staff rationale and scheduling details Superintendent (name not specified) and district staff explained the proposal by showing a districtwide accounting of instructional sections. The materials staff circulated show there are, in aggregate, 84 unutilized instructional sections across grade bands. Staff said the proposed 1.5 FTE reduction would remove the equivalent of 54 of those open periods, leaving a net of about 30 unutilized periods that the district needs to preserve for teacher prep time, lunch and travel time between split assignments.

"There is no loss of programming for students at all," one district administrator said, adding that if enrollment rises the district would revisit the staffing level and could reduce the proposed FTE reduction.

How students will still access specials Administrators described the elementary special-area staffing model: many elementary special-area teachers are scheduled as halves or shared roles across sister schools, and special-area schedules run on a six-day rotation. At the middle school level, administrators explained students automatically receive world language, PE and health slots and then choose additional encore classes; they said most students will have art at some point in middle school unless they are enrolled in multi-period electives such as band that occupy multiple encore slots.

Collective-bargaining process and RIF District staff emphasized that personnel changes follow the teachers' collective bargaining agreement and the reduction-in-force (RIF) process, citing Article 6 of the contract. Under that process the least-senior certified staff in a grade or area can be placed on a RIF list, and staff said placement and subsequent assignments are handled in collaboration with the teachers' union.

Public comment and union concerns Amberon Letterly, a Moran teacher and president of the Wallingford Education Association, raised several questions during public comment, including concerns about unemployment benefits levels, the hall-pass system used at the middle school, whether district-paid SAT administration occurs during the school day, Title II grant breakdowns, and the fate of the summer school stipend position historically filled by a teacher.

Next steps Staff said they would work with building principals to arrange schedules and staffing so teachers are not overburdened by travel between sites, and that they will return to the board if enrollment changes require reversing any reductions. The committee did not take a formal vote on the staffing proposal during the Jan. 30 meeting.

Ending Committee materials and staff explanations were distributed to members; staff signaled they will monitor enrollment and bring any necessary staffing adjustments back to the board for action.