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SAD 74: School has too many students

Children at North Anson school to be sent elsewhere

By Erin Rhoda erhoda@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

ANSON -- When students returned to Carrabec Community School two weeks ago, teachers and administrators discovered a problem: There are too many children.

The overcrowding of two classrooms was from a combination of events: the Embden Elementary School closure, families moving to town over the summer and parents' requests to sent their children to the school even though they live out of town.

Currently there are 26 students in the North Anson school's third grade. There are 22 in its first grade class. The limit, set by district policy, is 20 students for every teacher.

The school has taken steps to reduce physical crowding, Superintendent Ken Coville told the school board on Wednesday. But now some students will need to be reassigned to other district schools.

Parents will soon receive a letter, asking if they will voluntarily move their children to either Garret Schenck Elementary School in Anson or Solon Elementary School.

"I am concerned about the disruptive effects of moving children," Coville said, but he told school board members it was ultimately their decision whether to relocate students or to hire an ed tech to split time between the classrooms. An ed tech would cost about $20,000 for the year.

A vote to hire an ed tech failed, 8-5. That leaves Coville to enforce the district's policy and move some students. Five third-grade students in the class reside outside the school's attendance area. It's the same for two first graders.

Allison Marcoux, a school board member from Anson, said the district should spend its money on something other than an extra ed tech. "I don't want to disrupt them in any way," she said, but "we're spending money ... when we have room for these kids (elsewhere)."

Tammy Murray, a board member from Anson, said it was a shame the district learned about the overcrowding after school started. "I'm actually embarrassed that we're discussing this right now because I know for a fact I brought this up months ago," she said. "We really should have been looking where we were putting those kids."

Coville said there were indications in the spring that class size would be large but that some parents didn't enroll their children until a couple weeks before school started. Others moved to the district over the summer. He wanted to present the issue to the board, he said, and Wednesday's meeting was the first since school started.

"There is plenty of room districtwide; it's just a localized overcrowding," he said. And there is money available to hire an ed tech "without going beyond the existing budget."

Lauren Simpson, of Farmington, teaches second grade at Garret Schenck. She expressed concern about an ed tech adding more work for a teacher. "Some ed techs are wonderful, and it might be this wonderful team effort, but you could also put an ed tech in there that's more work for the teacher," she said.

Shawn Cyrway, an Embden board member, spoke in favor of hiring an ed tech. "Kids are not as resilient as people keep saying they are. Kids need a certain amount of stability," he said.

The district will develop a reassignment plan in the coming days.

Erin Rhoda -- 474-9534

erhoda@centralmaine.com