By LARRY MAIER
Board newcomer says full-day K can wait
The silence has been broken.
Baldwin residents who have been waiting for a member of the school board to state a position on the debate over full-day kindergarten and class-size reduction finally got their wish on Feb. 14. Bill Edelman, newly elected member, used the board meeting at Plaza School that night as a forum to tell colleagues, school administrators and a gathering of parents exactly where he stands on the issue.
Edelman said he favors aggressive reduction of class sizes, but not full-day kindergarten, for the next school year. His position differs from one previously stated by Superintendent Kathy Weiss.
In December, Weiss proposed both full-day kindergarten and reducing class sizes in the elementary schools for the 2001-2002 school year. Weiss suggested reducing classes to a maximum of 22 students in grades k-2 and a maximum of 25 students in grades 3-5.
Edelman's plan calls for more expansive cuts in class sizes. He suggests reducing classes in grades 1-4 from the current cap of 29 to 22. He, too, would cap fifth-grade classes at 25 students.
Edelman also would like to see at least 50 percent of elementary-school classes at or below a goal of 19 students per class.
Much of the rationale behind Edelman's plan is in line with the suggestions made by the class-size reduction committee.
For example, Edelman believes his proposal will provide for more one-to-one interaction between teachers and students and offer special needs students a better chance to become successfully mainstreamed.
Edelman also said that an aggressive reduction of class sizes would help improve results on fourth- and eighth-grade standardized tests and reduce the need for middle- school remediation.
As for full-day kindergarten, Edelman said he thinks such a program is an attainable future goal for the district but that its impact would not be as far reaching as smaller classes and would require more logistical considerations.
Mixed reaction, uniform praise
I think that sometimes the perception of the school board is that they sometimes arrive at decisions without putting in a lot of research, Edelman said in a telephone interview the day after he made his proposal. He thinks the perception is unfair and felt it was important to walk the public and the school board through the steps he used to arrive at his decision.
Reaction to Edelman's proposal from district parents on both sides of the issue was mixed. However, most expressed a hope that the rest of the school board soon will be as forthcoming about their positions.
I appreciate Mr. Edelman coming out and taking a stand. I thought it was brave of him. He obviously did a lot of research and work, said Lorraine Zellar-Agostino, who sat on the class-size reduction committee.
Zellar-Agostino said it is important for the community to know what the other school-board members think about the issue. Without them telling the public where they stand, it's hard for us to know where we stand.
Dante Ortiz, another advocate of reducing class sizes, said he wonders why the rest of the board is taking so long to tell the community what they think.
We don't know where they are. It looks like only Mr. Edelman has had the urgency to look into the matter. I don't know if the rest of the board members have done that, Ortiz said. I just wonder what kind of work they are doing. What are they afraid of?
Ortiz said he thinks the school board may have lost its focus and become too concerned with worries about getting the budget passed as opposed to supporting aggressive academic programs. Their job is not to get the budget approved, he said.
Even some of those who favored the superintendent's recommendation found Edelman's public statement refreshing.
Barbara Cohen, a parent, said she thinks Dr. Weiss made a perfect recommendation but wants to hear from other board members.
The board needs to come out and be a leader here. We have a right to know who stands where on what issues, said Cohen.
Board member B.A. Schoen, who was asked during the meeting for his stance, said he had not moved from a position he stated at the Community Input Meeting in January when he said he was inclined to go along with Weiss.
Schoen, who characterized the timing of Edelman's remarks as unusual, said that while he would like to have it all, he needs to see the budget first before determining what is reasonable.
When told of Ortiz's comments about the board losing its focus, Schoen suggested that anyone who thinks that way doesn't understand the roll of the school board.
There isn't any experienced school-board member who would say that it isn't very, very important to pass a budget, Schoen said. In order to educate our children, we must pass the budget.
Board President Mary Jo O'Hagan said she also leans toward the superintendent's recommendation but conceded that Edelman's proposal has brought something different to the table.
O'Hagan agreed with Schoen about the importance of seeing the budget first before stating a position on the issue.
We're all waiting to see what the budget looks like, she said. We hope the budget numbers will perhaps crystallize it for us and help us get to a solution.
O'Hagan said she expects to receive the budget from the administration on March 2, five days before the first budget hearing on March 7. O'Hagan said a decision by the board may follow at the March 14 meeting, unless a consensus cannot be reached.
I know that this is all very vague and frustrating, said O'Hagan. But I don't know what else to say.
