After Vigorous Debate, District 219 Finalizes Staff Numbers

The Niles Township High School District 219 school board set final staffing levels for the 2010-11 school year at the equivalent of 388 full-time certified teaching staff – one less than this year.

While that may sound static, it wasn't. The board reduced staff in some areas, prompting public outcry, and added staff in others. 

It trimmed staff in the subject area of physical welfare by taking several streamlining measures: including health classes in sophomore physical education, trimming library services, raising fine arts class sizes, eliminating and reducing some courses in applied sciences and technology, changing some special education classes from two semesters to one and changing some special ed co-teachers to aides, and assigning department directors some teaching duties. Overall, the reductions add up to the equivalent of 11 full-time staff members.

At the same time, the districted added the equivalent of 10 new staff members. Faculty are being added in math, which has a new extension course that will ensure that all students can enroll in a minimum of Algebra I; English, where sophomore class sizes were reduced; and science, where the state mandated classes for English language learners.

Enrollment increases led to increases in staffing for English Language Learners, social studies and foreign languages, and the equivalent of one full-time staff member will go to a new teacher evaluation and mentoring program.

“Had we not gone through what we went through the last six months, we would not have been able to make these additions,” said school board president Robert Silverman.

 The restructuring became a point of public controversy when 10 tenured teachers were notified that their jobs would be eliminated for the next school year, because they had the least seniority in affected departments. Last month, the board and the Niles Township Federation of Teachers agreed to a plan that would preserve the jobs of the tenured teachers and eliminate non-tenured teachers instead.

Superintendent Nanciann Gatta said that the restructuring done over the past three years has been accomplished without eliminating any programs.

“We have cut variety within the programs, because variety adds cost and complexity,” she said.

Board President Robert Silverman said that the district may have to consider limiting the number of classes students take in coming years, since class enrollments are increasing the need for staff, even though the total number of students has not increased.

“Many students are graduating with many more than the number of courses we require and more than the number of courses required by their colleges,” he said. “We have not increased our enrollment; we have increased enrollment in these courses.”