Letter to the Editor: Is It Time to Consider Increased Class Sizes?

The report by RSP Associates to the Oswego School Board as the Ledger reported last week predicted enrollment growth, but some of the data reported was confusing and contradictory to enrollment numbers reported by our school district. 

For example Dr. Behlow in 2006 told the Illinois legislature that the enrollment was 15,800 but the Enrollment by Grade chart by RSP shows the enrollment for 2006-07 to be 13,492. The RSP projected enrollment for 2011-12 year is 16,831 up from this year’s , (2010-11) 16,189, while Oswego308.org, Fast Facts shows this year (2010-11 year) enrollment to be 16,747.

The Ledger article began saying that the OHS is at capacity and OEHS is reaching capacity by 2013-14. Both high schools have a design capacity of 2400 and Oswego308.org Fast Facts showed high school enrollment, Nov. 2010 as 4,305; therefore, if the boundaries were properly established each school would be below capacity. 

Further RSP, In and Out Migration data for the 2010-11 year showed: In Migration (Entering); Elementary 600, JHS, 339, HS 278; Out Migration (Exiting); Elementary 618, JHS 276, HS 455.  Note; high school out migration exceeded in migration by 177, which historical is not unusual. I question the validity of some of RSP’s projections and all data cited can be verified on Oswego308.org  

Presentations for high school additions were made to the board by Kluber Architects for OEHS and ATS&R Architects for OHS. I was not surprised that the Administration gave their complete wants lists to the architects as needs, which drove up the cost of additions. 

The wants included a new field house for OEHS, a swimming pool for OHS, artificial turf for both school’s football fields and more space of course for more administrators. The large list of wants drove up the estimated cost to $39 million for OEHS and $42 million for the complete list for OHS. Could this be a plan to make additions so expensive that a third high school would seem the best solution?

Since what is needed is capacity to house students why doesn’t Oswego District 308 consider what other districts are doing, which is to increase class size. Batavia, for example, is doing just that. They are recommending increasing K through second to 26, grades three to five to 29 and 32 at middle and high school. 

I do not advocate increasing the lower grades that high. Using information from the addition proposal that showed OEHS currently has 45 academic classrooms and 9 PE classrooms and using the district’s current criteria to determine capacity, which is 25 students for academic classes and 30 students for PE results in a total of 2,395 for one school or 4,790 for two schools.  

If the numbers for the classes were increased to 28 for academics and 33 for PE the total becomes 5,354 for two schools.  That number exceeds the RSP 2015-16 projection of 5,262 high school students.  This would allow time to analyze actual growth before building. 

Lee Hoffer, Oswego