Cumberland County board delays TISA vote, moves to add teachers and RTI supports to lift third-grade reading
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Summary
Board members postponed formal approval of the TISA accountability report to a special call at a Monday retreat after reviewing third-grade screening data that showed a 33.1% meeting/exceeding rate. Members backed using budgeted funds to add five teachers or trained assistants and to expand RTI support at five schools.
The Cumberland County Board of Education postponed a vote on its TISA accountability report and agreed to pursue targeted staffing and intervention steps after a director’s presentation flagged low third-grade proficiency and large remediation caseloads.
During the director’s presentation, board members heard that Cumberland County’s third-grade meet/exceed rate was 33.1% this past year and that renorming of the K–3 universal screener prevented direct year-to-year comparisons for the youngest grades. The director recommended using the CNE matrix as the committee’s decision tool and proposed adding focused RTI (response to intervention) assistance at five schools with heavy Tier 2/3 loads.
The board discussed several staffing options. One proposal — already budgeted — would add five teachers (one each at Brown, Martin, North, South and Stone), which the director said would reduce the district’s average class size to about 16.6 students. Board members debated hiring certified teachers versus instructional assistants and raised practical concerns: midyear classroom disruption if students are reassigned, availability of classroom space, and the difficulty of finding qualified staff on short notice.
A series of board members urged pairing classroom hires with better family-engagement work and outreach, citing peer-district examples such as Arlington Independent School District and Lewis County’s early-literacy teams. The director also noted teacher reports of shortcomings in the current math curriculum and said some schools have already created local supplemental plans while the district explores training and legal contract limits on replacing a six‑year adopted curriculum.
Rather than take the TISA accountability vote that night, a motion passed to delay the formal vote until a special call at the end of the board’s Monday retreat so the director could meet with principals and finalize recommended staffing and budget language. The director said she would return Monday with revised language that could be voted on during the retreat’s special call.
The discussion also referenced the state proficiency target (70% by 2030), TISA funding comparisons with peer systems, and the need to balance near‑term actions against longer‑term strategic planning. The board did not take a final funding vote at the meeting; instead members signaled support to use existing budgeted teacher positions and to consider a budget amendment or targeted fund-balance use if additional hires are needed.