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 be harmed if class sizes climb to the levels parents estimated. Commenters cited impacts on individualized interventions required by federal law and on students who use walkers or wheelchairs.

Public commenters described classroom conditions they said would be made worse by the cuts. Jennifer Mizer, a Mark Twain parent, said the proposed staffing changes could create first‑grade classes “each with a ratio of roughly 27 to 1, and fourth grade classrooms, each with a ratio of roughly 29 to 1.” She asked the board to “follow recommended state guidelines of having no more than 25 elementary students in a classroom with 1 teacher” and to review staffing changes with the Westerville Teachers’ Union to ensure contract limits are not violated.

Other parents described how larger classes reduce physical space, limit movement breaks and therapeutic accommodations, and could mean students with disabilities spend more time in restrictive settings. Nicole Melcher, who volunteers weekly in kindergarten, said her son, who has autism spectrum disorder, “requires a less crowded classroom where he can move, self regulate, and access the accommodations in his IEP.” She told the board that reversing the reductions was necessary to preserve students’ progress.

Speakers also asked for clearer communication about the district’s data and decision‑making. Stacy Sayak (identified in the meeting transcript as Stacy Silak/Sayak) said parents need “100% transparency about what is happening, who’s impacted, and the data used to make those decisions.”

District administrators described the staffing process used each year: principals review course and enrollment data and adjust staffing in April, and high‑school scheduling is more complex because of many course offerings and eight‑period days. A secondary administrator said the district reduced seven full‑time equivalent positions at the high‑school level this year through attrition and that schools balance staff across buildings when enrollments change.

Board members thanked speakers for attending and said they would follow up with questions for staff. One board member said she would ask for comparative student‑to‑teacher ratios across buildings and for additional data about the proposed shifts; another encouraged parents to use district resources about the state budget and advocacy.

Ending: The board did not take a vote on reversing the Mark Twain reductions during the meeting. Administrators said they will continue to monitor enrollment through the summer and may add or reduce sections as needed; speakers asked the board to consider alternatives that would preserve teacher positions at Mark Twain.