Committee presses administration to restore two teachers as FY20 budget debate centers on rising class sizes

Freetown-Lakeville Regional School Committee members pressed district leaders on the proposed FY2020 budget on March 11, asking the superintendent to seek ways to restore two classroom teacher positions while keeping the budget's overall dollar request unchanged.

Committee members said the budget as presented would raise average elementary class sizes and highlighted a specific concern about the fifth-grade cohort at Grace, where the proposed staffing would increase class sizes sharply. "I'd like to see us realign our priorities in this budget to bring their classroom size back to a level that I think is acceptable," a committee member said during the discussion.

The administration told the committee it had prioritized some staffing additions at the intermediate and middle school levels and had shifted several line items to more accurately reflect actual salaries and one-time purchases.…