HR committee reviews staffing, class-size disparities and position-control steps ahead of budget season
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Summary
The human-resources committee reviewed staffing and class-size data on Nov. 10, emphasizing position-control steps and options to address wide variation in class averages across schools.
The Bethlehem Area School District’s human-resources committee on Nov. 10, 2025, reviewed staffing levels, position-control measures and class-size data to inform the district’s multiyear budgeting and staffing decisions.
Dr. Burris (HR presenter) framed staffing as the largest budget driver, noting salaries and benefits account for about two-thirds of spending. She summarized factors that affect staffing needs — enrollment trends, programming (special education, ESL, gifted supports), collective bargaining and building use — and described a new position-control system that assigns unique numbers to each position to prevent hiring beyond budgeted lines and to track reassignments.
Burris walked the committee through class-size guidelines: the district uses 20 students per class as a guideline for kindergarten through grade 2 and 25 for grades 3 through 5. A snapshot taken on Sept. 8 showed most classes below those targets, but significant building-level variance exists: some buildings averaged roughly 11–13 students per class while others showed averages in the mid-20s.
Board members highlighted those disparities and questioned whether facility utilization, catchment-area adjustments or reassignment of staff should be part of long-range planning. Committee members and administrators described three levers for addressing large classes: split the class into two sections where space permits, add an instructional aide to the room, or deploy instructional coaches for tier-1 instruction; sometimes the district combines approaches.
Administrators said many staffing decisions are reviewed case-by-case, with principal-level conversations beginning as early as February and continuing monthly through the summer. The presentation emphasized that staffing changes are part of a multiyear plan and that equity considerations will be included in future discussions.
Next steps: Administrators will continue to use position-control data and enrollment monitoring to guide hiring and reassignment; the committee signaled further budget- and facilities-related discussions in the coming months.