Shrewsbury will add three new teachers
By Melissa Muntz Community Reporter

Shrewsbury - An unexpected budget surplus will allow Shrewsbury Public Schools to hire three additional elementary school teachers.

In a report before the School Committee Oct. 3, Superintendent Dr. Anthony Bent said the district's personnel account had a surplus of $467,884, due mostly to the diff erence in salary between seasoned teachers who had retired and the new staff brought on to replace them.

The average salary of people who left the district at the end of the last school year was just under $52,000, compared to the starting salary for new staff , which is just over $40,000.

The committee voted to spend roughly $140,000 of the surplus to hire three new teachers, two at the thirdgrade level and one at the fourth-grade level. Class sizes at these grade levels in three of the district's four elementary schools have exceeded the district's guidelines, with 26 to 30 kids per class.

A third-grade teacher will be added at both Paton Elementary and Spring Street Elementary, and a fourthgrade teacher will be added at Coolidge. Bent said hiring the new staff is priority one for the district.

"There is nothing more important than appropriate staff ratios," he said.

School Committee member Mark Murray called the move a no-brainer.

"It's the right and responsible thing to do for kids, teachers and the district," he said prior to the vote.

The committee unanimously approved taking on the new staff, which is scheduled to be in place by the middle of October. Committee members Erin Canzano and John Samia recused themselves from the vote, as they both have children in the classes that would be aff ected.

The students in the largest classes will be redistributed, a move Bent said will not be easy for the kids at first, but will be better for them in the long run.

The committee took no action regarding the remaining surplus funds, however some expressed interest in eliminating newly incorporated activity fees.

Committee members and High School Committee Liaison Claire Gutekanst who attended the meeting expressed concern about a decrease in participation in activities this year.

"I've talked to presidents of clubs that have no members," Gutekanst said. "Some people don't think the fee is worth it … and for some kids that's the one outlet that really makes it worth it for them to go to school."

The committee instructed Bent to examine a variety of areas where the additional funds many be needed, and to report back about the district's areas of greatest concern.