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Wallingford board hears widespread public opposition after plan to reduce middle‑school art staff
Summary
Dozens of parents and students urged the Wallingford Board of Education to keep middle‑school art staffing intact after district officials said one art teacher will retire and not be replaced, leaving three teachers to cover both middle schools. The superintendent said programming will be maintained but class sizes will rise.
Dozens of parents, middle‑school students and the Wallingford Education Association pressed the Wallingford Board of Education on Feb. 24 to reverse a staffing decision they said will reduce access to art instruction at the district’s two middle schools. The most repeated plea: keep the current number of art teachers in place.
The public comment session began with Anne Veron Letterly, president of the Wallingford Education Association, who described teacher volunteers visiting board meetings to “talk about what's going on in our classes” and highlighted student achievements and extracurricular learning tied to arts instruction. Several students and parents followed with first‑hand accounts of how art courses influenced academic performance, career interests and extracurricular success.
The comments came in response to a central office staffing decision explained that evening by Superintendent Belizzi: one middle‑school art teacher is…
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