Parents urge Westerville board to halt teacher cuts at Mark Twain amid class‑size concerns

Parents and several teachers pressed the Westerville City Schools Board of Education on May 5 to reverse proposed reductions that would eliminate a first‑grade and a fourth‑grade teacher at Mark Twain Elementary, arguing the changes would raise class sizes and reduce supports for students with disabilities.

The district’s superintendent, speaking during the superintendent’s comments portion of the meeting, said administrators are absorbing positions where possible and reassigning staff as retirements and resignations occur. The superintendent said some reductions reflect “deficit spending” and that teachers with contracts “will have a teaching job next year, just maybe in a different building at a different grade level.”

Nut graf: The board heard repeated accounts from parents and volunteers who said Mark Twain — a school several speakers noted has a five‑star rating — would…