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In order to address issues resulting from the shutdown of schools last year, South Williamsport Area School District's Superintendent Mark Stamm recommended staffing changes, including hiring an additional second grade teacher, elementary instructional intervention teacher and replacing the administrative position of director of student services utilizing federal ESSERS funds.
However, not all board members were in agreement with the recommendation.
The director of student services would also serve as the principal at Rommelt Elementary with combined half-time salaries equal to a full-time salary in the range of $80,000 to $90,000, Stamm said.
Board member Diane Cramer questioned the necessity of adding the administrative position rather than increasing the number of teachers at the kindergarten level in order to decrease class size.
Cramer also noted that other staff, including paraprofessionals, have been decreased in recent years.
"We are spending a lot of money for this position and those who are directly connected with the kids, which is our focus here, I don't know if we're giving them the best without having the assistance of paraprofessionals," Cramer said.
"The kids aren't getting the best environment with less teachers and less staffers to help them out and less classrooms," she said that people in the community had told her sharing their concerns.
"My concern is that do we need to be thinking about putting more money into those kind of things, too," she added.
Stamm told the board that even with the disruptions in learning over the past year, students at the kindergarten level have moved forward academically because of the small class sizes.
"The group that we see the most challenges with are the kids currently sitting in first grade," Stamm said.
In a written explanation of this, Stamm said, "In March of 2020, these students lost a quarter of their kindergarten year, then returned to alternating days and then another 23 days of remote learning."
He added that data in the district and across the nation shows that current first grade students have the "most significant gaps in learning as a result of the pandemic."
The addition of the instructional intervention teacher would provide learning support at each grade at the elementary level.
"We can have them anchored in each grade level so that we can drive interventions directly into the classrooms where they are," Stamm said.
He added that the director of student services would then oversee the social and emotional learning and assessments so that the district can monitor them in order to be able to make sure that any gaps that have resulted from the pandemic.
"I understand where you're coming from with this position," Todd Engel, board member, said, "but I struggle to say yes to something like this when I don't see the added value on a day-to-day basis when it impacts the students."
Engel said that he would like to see an increase in course offerings rather than adding the position of director of student services.
"I just can't get behind all this," he added.
When asked what would happen if the combined director of student services and elementary principal position was not filled, Stamm said that he appreciated the concerns that had been discussed.
However, he said, "We have specific needs with a new social-emotional learning program that, as we saw very clearly in the fall, was an absolute need for students in our community.
"So, we're bringing that forward. There's a lot of resources there. We have the math assessments which we know we have academic interventions through the summer learning camps and throughout the school year. There's a lot new (things) coming in just with emerging from the pandemic. It has to go somewhere," Stamm said.
"There's a need and we have to find a way to fill that," he added.
The motion for adding the second grade teacher and the elementary instructional intervention teacher passed unanimously.
Another motion about hiring the position of director of student services, passed with a 5-2 vote, with Engel and Cramer as the no votes. Voting yes were; Nathan miller, Nicholas Fiorini, Cathy Bachman, Airneezer Bingham and Steve Rupert.
Sue Bowman was absent and the ninth seat was vacant at the time of the vote.