HWDSB proposes plan to reduce elementary class sizes, dip into reserve funds
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) has approved a plan to reduce class sizes in its elementary schools and stagger reopening dates for the 2020-21 school year.
The proposals were approved by trustees at Monday's board meeting.
The plan to reduce class sizes will allocate $7.4 million in funding to reduce kindergarten class sizes and $3 million to reduce class sizes for students in Grade 4 through 8.
The plan marks a significant drop from its initial request to Ontario's ministry of education to pay $43 million to reduce the board's elementary class sizes to 15 students per class.
Instead, the new plan will reduce the average kindergarten class size to 22 students per class, and the average classes in Grades 4 to 8 to 24 students per class.
According to Shawn McKillop, spokesperson for the HWDSB, the board did not include plans for Grade 1 to Grade 3 classes because those are already capped at 20 students.
Manny Figueiredo, the HWDSB's director of education, told trustees that the ministry declined the board's request for $43 million and offered $933,505 instead, as part of a provincewide grant of $30 million for reducing class sizes.
The ministry's rejection drew criticism from some trustees.
Our hand has been forced," said Becky Buck, trustee for Wards 8 and 14. I'm disappointed in the ministry's decision to inadequately fund our board, as they've done with the rest of the province."
To finance the plan, the board has agreed to dip into its reserve funds to help finance the $10.4 million cost of reductions in class size.
The plan calls for funding for 56 new teachers and 47 new classrooms for kindergarten students, as well as 36 new teachers and 30 new classrooms for Grade 4 to 8.
The new positions that are created for the reduced class sizes would be eliminated next school year, the board says.
The costs would be covered by the board's 2019-20 savings, an additional funding of nearly $1 million from Ontario's Ministry of Education, contingency money for the 2020-21 school year, and the existing reserve funds.
The board has access to nearly $12 million in reserve funds, but has said that it does not want to use the entire sum in case of other costly emergencies throughout the year, opting to use a maximum of $9 million in reserve funding.
The board also noted that its average class size projections are based on the assumption that all students will return in-person. Depending on how many students decide to stay home, the number of students per class might actually be lower than projected, the board says.
In-person enrolment numbers are expected to be released following the pre-registration deadline for parents and guardians, slated for Tuesday at noon.
The board also approved a plan to stagger the reopening dates of elementary and secondary schools in September.
Students will enter classes gradually for the first weeks in order to familiarize themselves with COVID-19 protocols.
The HWDSB plan indicates that the first two days of school will only be open to students with special needs, while the remainder of students will be placed into two groups to enter schools on alternating days during the first week.
One group will attend school on Sept. 10 and Sept. 13, while the other will attend school on Sept. 11 and Sept. 15.
All students will return to school on Sept. 16.
The Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board (HWCDSB) approved a plan to stagger reopening dates for elementary classes last week.
As of Sunday, the board has said that almost 3,000 HWDSB students are expected to learn online, but the board predicts there could be as many as 5,000 once the final numbers come in.
Jacob Lorinc's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows him to report on stories about education.