Democrats fight to keep class sizes smaller

Last week Governor Haslam unveiled his budget before a crowded Tennessee House of Representatives chamber.  One proposal from his budget would permit public school districts in Tennessee to create classes with larger numbers of children and, as a result, would decrease the individual attention our children receive from their teachers.

  This plan could cost thousands of teachers their jobs, millions of costs passed down to local communities and affect children in the classroom.

Currently, the state-mandated average class size for grades K-3 and grades 7-8 is 20 students, with the maximum number of students allowed in any class set at 25. Some classrooms may have the maximum number of students, but any school’s average class size must be at or below 20 students. (In grades 4-6, the   average class size is set at 25 students and the maximum number of students allowed in any class is 30.) 

Right now, the state bases its teacher funding on the average class size, funding one teacher’s position for every 20 students in grades K-3 and 7-8.  Under the administration’s proposal, however, funding would be based on the maximum class size, meaning one teaching position would be funded for every 25 students in those grades.

This proposal would affect K-8 classrooms in which there are currently 34,330 teachers.  The state funds 29,412 of those positions with local school districts funding the other 4,918.  Changes that Governor Haslam is recommending would drastically alter what the locals must do to keep their teaching numbers up.  This proposition would reduce the number of teachers the state pays for to 24,146, a difference of 5,266 fewer teachers. 

This is putting local governments in a difficult situation.  Do you keep the same number of teachers they currently have and raise taxes or do you lay off teachers and expand the number of kids in the classroom?

Nearly three decades ago, a study funded by the state legislature found that smaller class sizes make a significant difference in a child’s education, especially in early grades and among students from low-income households. The study prompted at least 24 states to put into place class-size restrictions or incentives.

Parents and teachers know first hand what difference small class sizes make in improving student learning. It's common sense; the fewer students in a classroom, the more time a teacher can spend with each individual student.

If we want to put students first, we can not put teachers last.