District staff warn East elementary third‑grade classes exceed 22:1; waiver possible in November

District staff presented the annual unit count at the Lake Forest School District board meeting on Oct. 9, explaining how student counts determine unit allocations and state funding and warning that one elementary school currently exceeds state K–3 class‑size limits.

The unit count presenter said the count took place Sept. 17–30 and, for the first time, districts used Infinite Campus to feed data into the unit‑count application. Staff described three student need categories — basic, intensive and complex — and the district goal of allocating 98% of regular/basic units to schools while allocating 100% of pre‑K, intensive and complex units.

Unit count staff said East Elementary’s third‑grade classes are over the 22:1 cap used for kindergarten through grade 3: three third‑grade classrooms have 24 students and one has 23. The presenter said the district will monitor rosters but expects to return to the board in November to request a waiver (the waiver application is due Dec. 1) if staff cannot meet the target allocation without exceeding class‑size limits.

“We only have one school right now that is over — East. Their third grade all four of their third grade classrooms are over that ratio at this time,” the unit count presenter said.

Staff also described a small reallocation pool (about 2.92 units) available to secondary schools and noted North’s unit total decreased due to fewer special‑education placements moving to other programs. The presenter described the process of validating attendance during the 10‑day window and how units are allocated by category and then distributed to schools based on staffing and program needs.

There was no formal board vote on the waiver at the Oct. 9 meeting; staff said they will discuss options with affected schools and return with a formal request if necessary.