QUESTION
Why do reducing class sizes require trade-offs, and what are the potential approaches?
0:46:24
·
3 min
Reducing class sizes necessitates trade-offs due to budgetary constraints and space limitations, with three main strategies outlined for achieving smaller class sizes.
- There are three primary ways to reduce class sizes: hiring more teachers if extra space is available, constructing new classrooms, or reducing student enrollment.
- Each approach involves significant trade-offs, such as reallocating budget or repurposing existing space, impacting other programs or resource allocation.
- The Department of Education aims to involve educators, students, and families in decision-making to avoid top-down decisions.
- Implementation plans and decisions about resource allocation and space repurposing are informed by operational considerations and the potential impact on school communities.
Rita C. Joseph
0:46:24
1 month, there'd be trade offs in order for because I heard that word use instantaneously a cross the board.
0:46:30
Why must there be trade offs?
Dan Weisberg
0:46:33
It's a really good question, chair.
0:46:35
And I know you and I wanna say, I should also say, I wanna echo Doctor Kirkland.
0:46:40
We have I have great respect and admiration for you, and you are absolutely the right person for a job.
0:46:45
And in part, only in part in part because of your many years of service as an educator in the field.
0:46:51
So there so let let me tell you something that I know you already know and the council members know.
0:46:56
There are 3 ways to reduce class size.
0:46:58
This is this is not complex.
0:47:00
You can do 3 things.
0:47:01
You can if you have extra classroom space, hire more teachers and open new classes.
0:47:07
That's that's a cost factor, but that is one that has one way to to lower class sizes.
0:47:14
You can if you don't have more space, you can build more classrooms.
0:47:18
And that is something that's another that's another strategy that we wanna pursue.
0:47:22
Also cost on a capital side and there's all the issues that Nina raised about finding space and acquiring space or you can reduce the number of students who come into the building.
0:47:35
That is another way to comply with with that is one of the recommendations as you know from the class size working group.
0:47:42
All of those things require trade offs.
0:47:45
Why do I say that?
0:47:45
If you're gonna hire 10,000 to 12,000 new teachers at a cost of, you know, up to $1,900,000,000, the money has to come from somewhere.
0:47:55
So it's gonna be less spending elsewhere.
0:47:57
Order support.
0:47:58
That might be the right decision, but it is a a trade off.
0:48:01
If you are going to use, repurpose, existing space in a school, as as you're saying, it, you know, it whether it is an under role school, over role school, there's very few schools you go into, and you see a classroom that's just sitting empty.
0:48:16
It's being used for something.
0:48:17
It's being used for the guidance counselor, the CBO and the community school.
0:48:21
It's being used for a mental health program, etcetera.
0:48:24
So again, trade offs.
0:48:25
So you're gonna repurpose that space for classrooms.
0:48:28
You're gonna be taken away space from other things that that you are doing.
0:48:34
All of these things require trade offs.
0:48:36
And, you know, what we are trying to make sure is that we're getting input from the people who are going to be affected by this, the educators, the students, and the families, and not just be making top down decisions.
0:48:50
I'm gonna say chair, it would not be hard to put together an implementation document, which by law, we have to do in collaboration with our partners at UFT and CSA, and we will continue to do that.
0:49:01
That says, here's the math.
0:49:03
We're gonna cap enrollment at Forest Hills High School, and Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech, and so forth.
0:49:10
Over here, We're going to take away repurpose space at this school of p s 107 in Brooklyn, and we're gonna use it for this.
0:49:17
We're gonna take money from this pot and put it towards hiring more teachers.
0:49:21
It's just math.
0:49:22
I'm an ops guy.
0:49:23
We can do that.
0:49:24
It's the question of how does that affect students, families, educators that we wanna make sure we're talking about.