Fixing Elementary Class Sizes Could Cost $1.1 Million

could be facing some tough decisions in the coming months regarding class sizes.

It can choose to have large elementary school class sizes -- in some cases more than 25 kids per classroom -- or it can choose to spend as much as $1.1 million on new teachers.

Superintendent of Schools Thomas L. Seidenberger presented this scenario to the East Penn School Board Monday night and asked the board to review the numbers and be ready to talk about them at their next meeting.

In preparing the board for that discussion, Seidenberger told the board that 25 students per class is the number he typically uses when he tries to work with class size at the elementary school level. “Most people will say that 25 is a number that sounds fair,” he said.

Seidenberger said that making any significant impact on elementary class sizes would mean spending money.

, to hit the 25 students per class target, East Penn would need to add 14 new elementary school teachers, he said.

At an estimated cost of $80,000 per teacher for salary and benefits, the total price tag would be $1.1 million.

“The board needs to look at the numbers,” he said. “You need to know where we are with class size as we go into the budgeting process again.”

Seidenberger said that he provided the board with projected enrollment numbers for three years out and he was surprised by what he saw in that data. “I thought the numbers would zoom up,” he said, “and they did not. We’re in a holding pattern.

“It’s not bad at the high school,” he said. “I think we will have some things to discuss at the middle school.”

Seidenberger handed out the elementary school enrollment data during his Superintendent's Report, and said that he would have secondary school numbers ready for the board’s next meeting. “I don’t particularly want to talk about it tonight,” he said. “Take a look at the numbers and let’s talk at our next meeting.”

Overall, Seidenberger said that East Penn a total of 7 students since his last report to the board on Sept. 12. The elementary schools have added 20 students and there’s one new student at the middle school level, while the high school enrollment has dropped by 12 students.

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