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Staff urges consultant study after maps show uneven elementary class sizes
Summary
District staff presented phase-three enrollment maps showing variation in class sizes and service-space configurations across five elementary schools and recommended the board consider consultant options and short-term redistribution to even out capacity and staffing.
Staff presented the third phase of the East Haven School District's enrollment study and urged the board to consider outside consultants to develop a longer-term plan to address uneven class sizes and space utilization.
The presentation by the district's staff member (S3) summarized floor maps for five elementary schools and explained the color coding used: blue for instructional space, green for support services and yellow for administrative areas. The staff member said May 2026 enrollment charts and section counts indicate significant variation between schools, and noted special-accounting for students in ABA programming that alters apparent average class sizes.
"My recommendation would be, if the board is open to it, that we bring back some —some— different consultant options to take a look at a longer term plan," the staff member said, asking the board to consider both boundary and staffing solutions.
Board members pressed on counting and inclusion practices. A committee member (S4) asked whether ABA students were being included in section averages; the staff member said that practice varies by IEP and that in grade 3 the published average of 23 students per section can be effectively 22 when ABA rosters are accounted for.
Discussion also covered classroom space constraints: the staff member described small pull-out spaces, shared coach desks, and basement instructional areas that limit opportunities to create new classrooms. Board members suggested short-term options such as reallocating an extra teacher from one site to serve as a floating interventionist at overcrowded schools while the district examines longer-range boundary changes.
Staff agreed to return to the board with consultant options and follow-up materials, including a monthly enrollment spreadsheet in board packets. The staff member said the district will present potential consultants and the pros and cons of boundary adjustments at a future meeting.
The board did not take formal action on a consultant contract at this meeting; staff framed the recommendations as next steps for board consideration.
