A video posted on the Dennis Township School District website pushes for passage of a ballot question in the Tuesday, Nov. 7, election that would provide funding to restore six teaching positions that were cut at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year, allowing the district to reduce class sizes.
The video on the district’s website features an appeal from Chief Administrator Susan Speirs, Business Administrator Teri Weeks and the board of education president and vice president, Nichol Hoff and Mary Kate Garry, asking voters to approve the question.
The separate question on the ballot asks voters to approve $1,276,758 for the general budget, which would allow the district to employ more teachers and aides and reduce class sizes. It would also provide additional funds for courtesy busing – for students who live within 2 miles of school.
Speirs and Hoff said in the video that the school district is at a “crossroads,” with Hoff saying the district’s future hangs on the vote. The district, she said, is facing the loss of another $200,000 in state funding in the 2024-2025 school year.
Weeks echoed that comment, saying that as well as losing $200,000, the district would be left with minimal reserves and would face another round of “unprecedented reductions” in 2024-2025.
A narrator speaking over images of the school and its students said what’s on the line is the future of some teachers and instructional aides and instructional materials including technology, textbooks and desks, and refers to the need for school bus replacement so students can have “safe and reliable transportation.”
The narrator also refers to the loss of after-school programs including field hockey, softball, baseball, stage band and the Future Educators Club.
A PowerPoint presentation is available on the district website, dtschools.org.
As a result of the April 27 Dennis Township Board of Education vote, the school was to begin the year with fewer teachers and aides and a reduction in programs. A recap of revenues for the 2023-2024 fiscal year showed a 48% reduction in state aid from 2022-2023.
The Dennis Township Education Association gave a slideshow presentation prior to the administration’s talk, illustrating what classrooms would look like with, for example, 33 students as opposed to 22, which was the class size during the 2022-2023 school year.
“Yes, we did start this school year with fewer teachers,” Speirs said via email. “This reduction in staff was required to meet our budget deficit because of loss of funding due to the NJ S2 funding formula.”
She said the year started with the loss of one homeroom per grade in each grade level, K-5, which amounted to six fewer teachers.
“This has significantly increased our class sizes,” Speirs said. “We now have classes with 35 students in a homeroom. If the separate question passes, we can replace those teachers and bring our class sizes back to normal levels.”
Speirs added that research shows that in smaller classes, students receive more individual attention, resulting in better grades, better test scores and fewer disciplinary issues. Large class sizes, she said, negatively impact how successfully schools can help students with emotional and social issues.
In April, some members of the public blamed the administration for mishandling the state funding situation, which the district said was compounded by rising costs in other areas, including salaries, insurance and out-of-district placements. At that time, Speirs said: “We’re trying hard not to cut staff.”
Not everyone in the audience that night believed the district’s position. Some said cutting staff was a quick way to cut costs.
Kimberly Homan, who retired after 33 years in the district, said at that meeting, “I can’t understand why teachers’ jobs were the first thing on the chopping block.”
Another speaker said the district had failed to plan for the loss of state funding. The district has lost $4,105,745 since the S2 funding formula was adopted in 2018.
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
