Superintendent: staffing ratios drive split classrooms; district proposes reducing K-2 class size to 24

The superintendent of Granite School District said staffing formulas, last adjusted in February 2008, determine how many full‑time teachers a school receives and that local school leaders — not the district office — decide whether to create split classrooms. The superintendent also said the district has proposed budget changes to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through second grade from 27.25 to 24 and will send that proposed budget to the Board of Education by June 1, after which the district may proceed with a truth-in-taxation process if a tax increase is needed.

The proposal matters because, the superintendent said, split classrooms can be “very challenging” in smaller schools and are more likely when a school’s total number of teachers is low.…