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Parents and teachers urge Cromwell Board to restore a first-grade classroom; board delays final decision
Summary
Multiple teachers, union leaders and parents told the Cromwell Board of Education on May 19 to reinstate a first-grade classroom at Edna C. Stevens, citing research and equity concerns; the board voted to table a staffing decision until late July/early August when enrollment is clearer.
Parents, teachers and union representatives packed the public-comment portion of the Cromwell Board of Education’s May 19 meeting to press the board to reverse a budget-driven elimination of a first-grade classroom at Edna C. Stevens School.
Speakers at the meeting — including longtime educators Linda Demitrus and Georgiann Stokes, Education Association of Cromwell president Lee Newman, and Dr. Alicia Ferris, a former district first-grade teacher and administrator — argued that cutting from seven first-grade classes to six would increase class sizes and reduce the district’s ability to provide individualized instruction and timely interventions, particularly for students with IEPs and multilingual learners.
"Losing a classroom and reducing the number of first-grade classes from seven to six will lead to larger class sizes which will place an unfair burden on our other first-grade teachers," Linda Demitrus told the board. Lee Newman added that reinstating a teacher would cost a fraction of the newly announced supplemental state funding: "That teacher salary represents less than 14% of that additional funding," he said.
The board’s finance staff and administration explained the budget context. Superintendent Dr. Alicia McCreary told the board that the state’s roughly $520,405 in supplemental funding was disbursed to the municipality and applied to the town’s mill rate, not directly to the school district’s grant accounts, limiting immediate options for reallocation.
Administrators presented current enrollment figures and projections: as of the meeting, first-grade seats in the district showed section averages in the mid-teens, but staff said screened-but-not-yet-registered kindergarten and other late summer registrations could push counts higher. The administration provided an enrollment projections packet and noted long-term regional forecasts showing gradual declines in enrollment that raise sustainability questions about permanently expanding staff.
Board members weighed competing priorities: many praised teachers and emphasized student-centered values, while others warned that restoring a position now could be unsustainable if enrollment falls or if municipal budget actions change the district’s bottom line. Finance staff also flagged a separate potential liability: an ongoing Hartford audit of Open Choice special-education reimbursements that could reduce district reimbursements this fiscal year (see related article).
After extended discussion, the board voted to end debate and table any staffing decision related to first grade until late July or early August, when updated registrations and final reimbursement figures will be available. The board asked administration to monitor kindergarten registrations and enrollment closely and to convene a special meeting if numbers change significantly before the scheduled date.
The board’s action leaves the staffing line as approved in the March/April budget for now; if additional funding or registration shifts occur over the summer, the board said it will revisit adding staff to reduce class sizes.
Next steps: the board will review updated kindergarten and first-grade enrollment at the end of July or in early August and may hold special meetings to act before the school year begins.
