Edwards Wants to Hire 5 New Kindergarten Teachers

Decatur Schools Superintendent Phyllis Edwards is recommending the Decatur School Board hire five long-term substitute teachers to deal with a larger-than-expected kindergarten class.

In a letter to the board in advance of Tuesday's School Board meeting, Edwards says she's authorizing hiring "a few additional certified teachers" at an estimated cost of $320,000.  

"Because these will be one-year positions, we are looking for long-term subs that are certified," Edwards said in an email to Patch.

has already received two teachers, and Edwards proposes hiring one to two teachers at , and elementary schools, where the adult-to-student ratio is 1:12. The new hires will bring the ratio down to 1:10, as it is now at Oakhurst.

The system's kindergartens classes already have one teacher and one paraprofessional. Each principal will determine how the current kindergarten teachers will use the new hires.

"I do not plan on opening new kindergarten classes at this time," wrote Edwards. "I do not believe that any parent wants their child taken out of a room they are comfortable in and with the teacher. That was never my intent."

Edwards defended the system's enrollment predictions, noting that in years past, predictions were within one percent.

"No one could have foreseen the 10 percent increase which is actually off by about 3 percent," wrote Edwards. "Many came in over the summer. A third are from out of state. Another group came from private schools."

Edwards says she plans to organize an enrollment projection committee "to look at the growth and make recommendations to me and the board."

Edwards said there are about 60 new tuition students this year.

"We do not wish to turn away students but everyone knows that our residents come first," she said.

"Each year, we determine what areas and classes we can open up.  It may well be that for next year, we do not accept new tuition at any grade level," Edwards wrote.

But that applies only to paid tuition. Courtesy tuition, extended to children of Decatur school system teachers and other employees, is "a different story."

"It has been in place for the last 10 years at least, as it was a practice of this school system before I arrived here," Edwards said.

In other business Monday night, the Decatur School Board will review and table for a month new policies on nepotism and campaigning.

Edwards says she will meet in late September with committees to review enrollment and projections, start and end times at middle and high school and engagement in general.  She plans to form a transportation committee to review options and then share comments and information with board members.

The board's work session begins at 4:30 p.m. at the board's central offices at Westchester, which will include a presentation from Jason Ware, director of facilities and maintenance, on the life cycle of the system's major heating and cooling systems. The regular board meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.