Parents press board over oversized classes at Cerritos and raise bus-safety concerns

Nine in-person speakers addressed the governing board during the May 13 call-to-public, and several focused on class-size changes at Cerritos Elementary and concerns about transportation safety.

Cerritos parents: teacher cuts and class-size impacts Multiple Cerritos parents and a student described multi-year experience with large classes and asked the board to reconsider a decision that will reduce teacher staffing in the coming year. Key points raised by speakers included: - Loss of teachers: Parents said Cerritos will lose two teachers at the end of the year; speakers said that led to a projected fourth-grade class size of about 32 students per classroom if reductions stand. - Local experience: Michelle Dixon, a Cerritos alumna and parent, described consecutive years of overcrowded classrooms at Cerritos (class sizes cited by speakers included kindergarten classes of 27–30 students and first-grade classes with 30 students). She said high class sizes had harmed teacher morale and contributed to families leaving the school. - Student impact: Taylor Warner, a Cerritos parent and former teacher, said her son’s anxiety spiked during a…