Stillwater board hears plan to add qualified teaching assistants to limit late-year teacher hires

Stillwater Area Public Schools leaders presented a staffing-flexibility pilot that would allow the district to deploy qualified teaching assistants (TAs) instead of adding new licensed sections immediately when small enrollment increases push classrooms over board-approved ratios.

Caitlyn (learning lead) and Chris (staffing lead) said the TA option is intended to preserve instructional integrity while being more fiscally responsive than hiring a new teacher late in the summer. They called the approach a pilot and said decisions would be made case-by-case with principals, taking into account special-education ratios, classroom composition and academic needs.

The district offered examples: a kindergarten cohort of 52 students that would otherwise require three sections could instead run two sections with one room staffed by a teacher plus a TA (an adult:student ratio near 1:15) and the other class smaller. Staff estimated roughly 22 K–5 sections across seven elementary schools would meet thresholds for TA support under current enrollment figures. TAs would be para-unit positions, required to hold a four-year degree and classroom experience; they would receive base para pay plus a $2-per-hour premium and participate in specific training (including science-of-reading modules).

Board members expressed support for a one-year trial, asking staff to return in late winter with initial screening data and operational lessons. Staff emphasized the pilot is not a “TA-only” approach: the district will consider adding sections where appropriate, and principal judgment and classroom needs will guide assignments. One explicit staff line put it plainly: "We're not going to TA our way out of this."