Committee approves extra Grade 2 section at West Kingston to balance class sizes

South Kingstown — The school committee voted to add an additional Grade 2 section at West Kingston Elementary after the superintendent presented enrollment projections showing uneven class sizes across district elementary schools.

Superintendent Mr. Pedraza outlined his methodology: using last year’s end-of-year rosters rolled into current grades, confirmed registrations to date, principal reports on pending withdrawals, and recent transfers. He highlighted that Grade 4 previously required a consolidation but new registrations raised projected counts; for Grade 2, several new registrations pushed some schools toward imbalance.

To address equity across classrooms, the superintendent recommended opening a new Grade 2 section at West Kingston. He explained collective bargaining constraints on class sizes and said the district plans an expedited two-day posting to current staff; if no internal candidate takes the role, the recall list would be used. He noted there could be minor transportation cost implications depending on where students live and that any additional staffing beyond the approved contingency would come from fund balance.

Committee members discussed split classrooms as a possible alternative and emphasized monitoring kindergarten and Grade 4 counts; several members said split classrooms can work when properly staffed but are a last resort. After discussion a member moved, and the committee approved, adding the Grade 2 section; implementation steps include posting the position, hiring or recalling a candidate, and confirming fiscal impact when step-level salary is known.

The committee directed administration to monitor enrollment through summer registration and report back if further staffing or redistricting is required.