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Teachers, parents press Westminster board to protect small elementary class sizes
Summary
Multiple teachers, parents and a student urged the Westminster School District board to preserve smaller primary-grade class sizes as contract talks continue, citing rising class counts, research on early-grade outcomes, and district reserves they said could fund both compensation and smaller classes.
At the Westminster School District board meeting on March 19, teachers, parents and a student pressed trustees to prioritize smaller class sizes in the district’s next contract decisions.
"Please consider keeping classes smaller so other students have a fair chance to learn without feeling like they've outgrown the school," said Hunter Lee, a sixth grader at Sequoia Academy who described a sixth-grade class of 34 students and said his class size has "increased by 79" since TK.
Representatives of the Westminster Teachers Association and classroom teachers said rising retirements and contract choices make this year decisive. "With a 112 educators retiring this year, the decisions made now will determine whether those commitments continue," a WTA speaker told the board, urging an MOU that protects primary-class sizes while remaining "fiscally responsible." Cecily Gates of the WTA said the association’s proposal would keep the district in the "top third" among elementary districts and cited the district's approximately "$51,000,000 in unrestricted ending fund balance" as a reason the district could both fund class-size protections and competitive compensation.
Classroom teachers described the classroom realities. "I currently teach first grade with 23 students and six major IEPs," said Nikki Etherton, stressing that IEP and EL supports require one-on-one time. Veteran kindergarten teacher Michelle Graham added that children entering kindergarten come with widely varying readiness, and that a teacher-to-student ratio double the TK adult ratio (10:1 adult to 26:1 teacher) undermines early reading and social development.
Parents reinforced the point with both research and local examples. Nicole Van Duren said research shows class sizes of 18–20 in early grades produce stronger reading and math outcomes and reported her own fourth grader is in a class of 31. Several speakers asked the board to use one-time and unrestricted dollars, reserve savings and projected retiree savings to prioritize students in classrooms rather than defer action.
Board and district staff noted existing steps: Superintendent Hansen told the board that current MOU language maintains class-size reduction for K–2 for two additional years and that staff were discussing extending it further. Trustees did not vote on a new MOU at the meeting; public comment and staff updates framed the bargaining and budgeting choices the board will consider in coming weeks.
Next steps: trustees and negotiators will continue contract discussions; members of the public were encouraged to attend upcoming sessions as bargaining and budget decisions proceed.
