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Winthrop board hears urgent appeals to restore teachers as enrollment jumps
Summary
Parents and substitute teachers urged Winthrop officials to restore classroom teaching positions after district enrollment rose sharply; principals presented FY27 budgets showing increased class ratios and requested staffing and technology investments. The board asked administrators to model the cost of adding a teacher and return figures at the next meeting.
Parents, substitute teachers and school leaders told the Winthrop School Board that rising enrollment and growing class sizes are straining teachers and students and should shape the FY27 budget.
"We're putting a lot of children's education at risk," said Amelia Arnold, a parent, describing a jump in grade‑school enrollment from 371 last year to "over 420" this year and a projected 423 next year — an increase she described as more than 50 students, or roughly 14 percent. Arnold and others urged the board to use the extra enrollment funding to restore teaching positions rather than trim existing services.
Substitute teacher Trisha Hitz Lefountain told the board she has seen fatigue among staff in the youngest grades and urged officials to "listen to the teachers and the parents when they say that the large classrooms are not beneficial." Amanda Lebec, speaking online, said she was "concerned about some of those class sizes getting up into the 20s" and asked whether the district could add another teacher to reduce burnout.
District administrators and building principals described budget requests informed by those classroom pressures. Winthrop High School Principal Dufour presented a conservative FY27 budget that includes replenishing depleted science lab supplies, replacing aging equipment, and a districtwide half‑time multilingual/ELL position that would be shared across buildings to support multilingual learners. Dufour said some high‑school sections now swing "anywhere as high as 25," noting teachers are "definitely feeling it."
Middle School Principal Lori Snell described plans to rotate replacement of expensive science lab tables and proposed converting an existing edtech 3 position into a half‑time library edtech plus a half‑time math interventionist to address middle‑school math needs. The grade‑school principal (introduced as Principal Violet) outlined added library and translation/interpretation expenditures tied to an increasing multilingual population.
Megan White, director of teaching and learning, highlighted district technology and curriculum investments that administrators say are necessary to support instruction — from a grade‑school camera system replacement to server planning — and noted some projects may be staged over multiple years to spread costs.
Board members responded to the public and administrative presentations by asking for concrete cost modeling. "I've heard one request tonight to come back at the next board meeting with what the increase would be if we put in another teacher at the grade school," Board Member Tim said; multiple board members expressed support for exploring that option. Superintendent Dr. Foley said administrators would prepare the requested figures and other comparisons the board requested (including per‑pupil cost comparisons with neighboring communities).
What happens next: Administrators were asked to return a budget model showing the fiscal impact of hiring one or more additional grade‑school teachers; the board will use that information as it moves into deliberations and potential votes on the FY27 budget.
Ending: There were no formal budget votes at this meeting; the board is scheduled to continue budget deliberations at upcoming meetings.
