School May Cut Up to 2 Teachers Under New Schedule

The Winnacunnet School Board has again had to delay its approval of a new six-period schedule for the upcoming school year because the plan isn't yet finished, although the board did get new information Wednesday as to how the change could affect the teaching staff.

The board had asked for the projected financial impact of implementing a new schedule that features yearlong core courses for at least the next five years, and had targeted June as the schedule's expected approval date.

School Administrative Unit 21 Superintendent Bob Sullivan said Wednesday, though, that he and the district "aren't ready yet to request a vote" on the plan because they "just haven't been able to put something together in writing" for the school board's review — even though the plan still is to begin the new schedule at the start of the 2013-2014 school year.

Sullivan said the new schedule could have "no contractual impact at all" if all sides can agree to a plan once it's put in writing, although he said research into the schedule changes has found that Winnacunnet High School could have a surplus of teachers once the move is made to a "4-4-4" teaching schedule.

"If you add everything up [between departments and the number of teaching blocks], potentially we could reduce the staff by an equivalent of up to two teachers," said Sullivan. "It could be less. There clearly will not be any increases in teaching staff as we move toward a six-period day, and there could be a staffing [decrease] of possibly up to two teachers."

Some board members have been wary of agreeing to a long-term yearlong courses plan because they feel it may commit them to an increase in salary costs, a notion Sullivan refuted Wednesday. Those board members, including present member Maria Brown and former member Denyse Richter, have said WHS has more than enough teachers to handle changes in their teaching period structure under the switch to yearlong courses.

A change to a 4-4-4 schedule within a six-period day would have teachers teach four classes each day in all three trimesters — effectively increasing the total number of classes to 12 — in addition to giving them a planning period and a "Warrior Block" student advisory period. Many teachers now follow a 4-3-3 schedule, in which two trimesters out of the year they only teach three courses. Teachers under the 4-3-3 schedule teach 10 classes per school year, which is two less than the maximum allowed by the teaching contract.

Despite the increase in overall teaching periods under the new schedule, Sullivan said the current staffing level could stay the same or be cut by up to two teachers thanks to a redistribution of duties throughout the building.

The district is expected to continue to research possible staffing changes as the yearlong courses plan continues to develop.

Ed Beattie, a social studies teacher who said he has "been involved in every schedule that's ever been made since 1979," spoke during Wednesday's school board meeting to let district officials know that the staff and teachers' union feel the new schedule "is the right way to go" and that more work on a complicated, "collective" process still needs to be done before a plan can be finalized.

That said, Beattie said the plan is "close" to being complete, that "there has been a ton of work done" so far and that "the work has been done honorably" by all parties involved.

"We've come to this not lightly," said Beattie. "I would suggest that we would finish those negotiations and finish our product, then people will be able to understand exactly how we got to where we are."

Sullivan declined to give a possible timeframe for new schedule's approval when asked Wednesday by Chris Muns, chairman of the school board. Sullivan said that it's "almost a daily discussion," and that he doesn't want to "say a date because two months ago" he "would've said June."

Muns suggested the district "try to target no later than August," though, despite the complexities involved in aligning bus routes, textbook orders and other non-staff-related changes with a new schedule.

Others agreed, and the school board passed a motion Wednesday to approve the new five-year yearlong courses schedule during its August meeting, stipulating that the approval will only come if the board has in hand a completed projection for building space and maintenance needs for the same timeframe.