Board approves adding 1.0 FTE kindergarten teacher at Kegonsa Elementary

The Stoughton Area School District Board of Education voted to add a permanent 1.0 full-time-equivalent (FTE) kindergarten teacher at Kegonsa Elementary after staff reported summer enrollment increases left class sizes above the district’s critical-staffing targets.

District administrators reported kindergarten section sizes at Kegonsa had increased over the summer and that adding one teacher would align staffing with the district’s enrollment-driven class-size targets. During discussion, board members raised operational questions, including whether redistributing students to other elementary schools could avoid hiring and how quickly boundary or grade-configuration changes would take place if pursued. Board members and staff said changing attendance boundaries would require a planful, multi-step process and community input and is not feasible on short notice.

Board member Allison Sorg moved to add the position, saying, “I move to approve adding a 1.0 FTE educator position at Kegonsa.” The motion passed without opposition. The board recorded no abstentions; two members were excused from the meeting. District staff said the new position will be included in the district’s 2025–26 budget development for formal adoption in October and that the hire will be treated as a permanent addition to staffing if enrollment trends persist.

Board members and staff described this as an enrollment-driven, one-year-at-a-time staffing decision; staff said if the enrollment pattern continues, staffing would be considered in the normal March staffing process for the following year. The board also directed staff to continue work on related operational planning and to present updated enrollment and Summer Excel participation trends at a future meeting.

The board acted on the item during the meeting’s discussion-action portion and approved the hiring step to align staffing with current enrollments.