The Green Bay Area Public School District Board of Education voted to approve revisions to board policy 3-43.2 revising class-size guidelines and related rules, after extended debate about whether the policy language should read as binding caps or flexible guidelines.

Board members and staff said the goal of the revisions is to remove ambiguous phrasing such as "every effort will be made" and to clarify staffing ratios so the district staffs to the stated caps. Policy presenters said the update reflects contemporary staffing models and research favoring smaller class sizes for younger students while also describing operational considerations for outlier situations.

Board member Andrew voiced concern that changing the wording might not prevent outlier classrooms with high enrollments; he urged stronger, binding language after citing examples where averages mask individual classrooms with 27–30 students. In response, staff said the intent is to treat the stated numbers (25, 27, 30) as the staffing targets and to bring additional supports in exceptionally rare cases.

Andrew moved an amendment to add a district K–3 class-staffing guideline specifically for AGR (At-Risk) schools setting the K–3 ratio at 1 teacher to 18 students. The amendment was seconded and put to a roll-call vote; Becker and Minnow voted yes and the amendment failed on a 2–5 recorded vote. The primary policy revision passed on a separate roll call with a 6–1 result (Becker recorded as the lone no vote).

The board discussed that AGR strategies include multiple options to improve outcomes and that the district will emphasize instructional coaching as a strategy alongside class-size considerations. Officials said twice-yearly AGR performance updates will continue.

What happens next: The revised class-size rules will guide staffing for the upcoming school-year assignments and the district will apply the stated caps while retaining procedures for exceptional circumstances.