Letter to the Editor

Facts supporting annexation of NEVC by Nevada R-5

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Dear Editor:

On the issue of smaller class size, I believe this is a very important concern in the elementary grades, but less of a concern as the students attend higher grades. My exact quote in my letter to the editor (9-2-10) continued with "... the teacher and student interaction is not threatened in a class size of 25." The overall student per class size is 11 at NEVC versus 18 at Nevada R-5 according to the DESE Website statistics from 2009 (2010 unavailable). If you add all of the NEVC students to Nevada R-5, or 249 NEVC students/13 grades, then the average grade increase is only 19, or a number that could probably be absorbed without any immediate need for new buildings.

Mr. Hoagland requested information from published articles about the impact of class size; thus, please refer to the Sept. 20 issue of TIME magazine and read the informative cover story "A Call to Action for Public Schools" by Amanda Ripley.

While much of the focus in the article is tracking public school performance related to teacher performance, there is an interesting statistic printed on the lower corner of page 35: "Classes are smaller, and per-pupil spending has increased, but student performance has not improved: 16:1 student-to-teacher ratio in 2007 compared with 22:1 in 1970; 123 percent increase in per-pupil education spending in the U.S. from 1971-2006; 0 percent change in academic performance among 17-year-olds from 1971-2004 in a national test for reading."

Sources: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; National Center for Education Statistics.

I arrived at the theoretical class size of 25 by adding to the 22 student class size at Benton second grade, from the estimate of 136 NEVC elementary students (provided by Mr. Naas at the Aug. 19 board meeting), or 20 per grade would increase the second grade to 220/9 equals 24.4 students per class, assuming no classes are added. I have inserted information from the Benton Elementary Web site for verification and explanation of the staff. Note, in addition to the nine classroom teachers there are five part-time professionals, two full-time special service paraprofessionals, three teachers with special training, and half of all certified staff have master degrees.

Enrollment

This year in the second grade at Benton Elementary we have 200 students. Our average daily attendance runs around 97 percent.

Staff

The Benton staff consists of nine classroom teachers, and one part-time speech/language teacher, one reading specialist, one cross categorical teacher, one pathologist. Other part-time staff includes our counselor, and our music, art, and P.E. teachers. Two full-time special service paraprofessionals, a full time library aide, the rotation of two nurses, and an office secretary are also on the Benton staff. About one-half of our certified staff have completed their masters in education, with several others working to complete their masters in the near future.

I assert that the interaction of student and staff is not threatened with the support of classrooms that are in maintained buildings in a safe environment, located in a strongly supported community base, and all affordable to the taxpayer providing the funding. Today, this is not occurring at NEVC with the constant threat of underfunded expenses, lower paid educational staff, buildings in poor shape, and a community that does not want to be taxed at a higher rate.

Mr. Hoagland also requested information on school consolidation that was mandated. This occurred in Kansas in the early 1960s with a series of school district unification acts, including KSA 72-6744 and 6765 with requirements of minimum enrollment of 400 students in grades 1-12; however, there were later repeals to this act in 1984. Currently, Kansas has a proposed House Bill 2728 stating that a "School district" or "district means a public school district which provides instructional resource coordination to attendance centers located in the district and which has a full-time equivalent enrollment of at least 10,000 on Sept. 20 of each school year. Also, a legislative post audit (http://kslegislature.org/postaudit) proposes consolidation of districts of fewer than 1,600 students saving the state an estimated $138.4 million annually.

And in Arkansas in 2003, Source "The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture":

The Public Education Reorganization Act -- Act 60 of the Second Extraordinary Session of 2003 -- is the current consolidation policy that mandates operational changes for all districts with fewer than 350 students.

In Arkansas, between 2003 and 2006, 121 districts were directly touched by consolidation or annexation, either as affected or receiving districts. These districts are geographically scattered throughout the various rural regions of the state. As of the 2008-'09 school year, there were 246 public school districts in the state.

And like Mr. Hoagland, I did search Missouri state statues and found no statues or pending house bills on consolidating small schools; however, Gov. Jay Nixon has made it clear that reduction in state funding at all levels, including recent cuts for school transportation, will be necessary.

My point in all of this is that state budgets are strapped for funding, politicians are very reluctant to propose increased taxation, and that the decisions will fall on the local communities to act in a prudent measure for public education.

Annexation, although discomforting for some, makes economic sense for small adjoining districts that fit well in the mold of a larger one, and the Nevada R-5 culture is similar to NEVC. There are many rural children attending Nevada R-5 that hunt, fish, and work on farms; these children interact with other NEVC children through 4-H, FFA, county fairs, vo-tech, and other means.

And finally, the economies of Walker, Harwood, and Schell City have not grown, as evidenced by the lack of business and new construction in the towns. True, agriculture has increased but has become much more efficient, such as the large corporate employer Murphy Farms located outside the district, and not contributing any taxes to NEVC. The total assessed value for the NEVC district actually decreased in 2010 by $85,448 from 2009, while Nevada R-5 district increased $284,702 (source Vernon County Clerk's Office).

In my initial Sept. 2 letter on reasons for annexation, I attempted to explain why tradition must give way to more progressive thinking in planning the future of public education. I first moved to Vernon County in 1960 at the age of 3 and still reside on my original family farm. I had an educational experience of attending other schools than Walker in both elementary and high school grades. I learned to adapt to change and challenges of building new relationships with students and teachers, which are social skills necessary as an adult.

In closing, it is time to change for the better and educate the children in a great place: Nevada R-5 School District.

Sincerely,

Greg Wortman

NEVC Resident and active voter.