By Dane Anderson, Staff Writer

Gail King and Paul Stone were sworn into third terms on the Eanes school board at a special meeting of trustees last night. The board unanimously approved Jim Strickland again as board president, Gail King for vice-president and Mike Monnig as board secretary.

Board members reviewed underlying assumptions that will shape the 2009-10 school year budget. The financial groundwork reflects a property value increase of 1.5 percent in the coming school year.

“This very preliminary percentage number was obtained from the chief appraiser at Travis County Appraisal District,” Eanes Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Larry Keiser wrote in documents prepared for the board.

The maintenance and operation tax rate used for property tax projections for the 2009-10 school year is set to remain the same at $1.04 per $100 taxable value.

The budget reflects lower revenues from interest earned and state aid caused by a decrease in expected enrollment to 7,301, down slightly from 7,325 last year. Projected revenues for the 2008-09 reflect $900,000 in high-cost risk pool federal monies and $500,000 in federal stimulus monies. District administrators project similar federal funding for the 2009-20 school year.

District administrators proposed a $1.75 million expense increase for additional positions and salary increases for the 2009-10 school year. Operating costs were expected to increase by 2 percent, but administrators say they will have a more accurate estimate of increased operating costs later in the summer. The budget is based on an overall district staffing ratio of 17 students to 1 instructional staff member.

Board members Stone and Clint Sayers posed questions to Eanes Superintendent Nola Wellman and other board members about the district’s policy on class size. The district currently uses the state-required standard of 22 students to 1 teacher in kindergarten through fourth-grade classes. Class size for fifth grade and above is targeted at a 25 students per teacher ratio. Two first-grade classes at Eanes Elementary School are now operating with 23 students under a waiver from the state. Wellman said class size waivers are common in public school districts.

Stone asked Wellman if elementary school principals are trading to obtain lower core class sizes by loading students into higher non-core classes such as art, music and physical education.

“What I’m hearing is that class size is an issue loud and clear,” Stone said.

“I’m not hearing that,” responded Wellman.

Wellman estimated that to reduce the staffing ratio on campuses from 17 to one down to 16 to one would require the district to hire more than 27 teachers at an estimated cost of $1.5 million.

“That would probably result in a (budget) deficit, and then we would have decisions to make,” Stone said. “We would have to think about what that would cost us and what benefit it would provide.”

Board member Robert Durkee said the district operated at a 22 to one student to teacher ratio at the direction of the board.

“That’s what the transfer policy allows us to do,” Durkee said. “We want to reach that ratio. That’s what we’ve told the superintendent to do. Do we think 22 to one is an appropriate class size for educational purposes?”

Both Stone and Sayers said that is a question they would like to see answered.

Wellman said there was no difference in quality of education between a student/teacher ratio of 22 to one and a ratio of 18 to one.

“Now if you go down to 12 to one, that’s a different story,” she said. “That’s why we have intervention specialists, to help those students who need help.”

Board member Ellen Balthazar said the district had built a model where the classroom teacher had an array of partners who could provide students extra attention. She said the method had become a hallmark for the district proven successful by high standardized test scores.

“I firmly believe incremental increases in student performance is not found in class size but in the instructional tools teachers have in their toolkit,” said Wellman. “Better instruction is the key, not how many students there are in a classroom.”

Wellman said the community criticism regarding class sizes in the district stemmed from the waivers at Eanes Elementary School. She said a teacher is being added to second grade at Eanes Elementary next year, resolving the problem for those students. Wellman said she could provide board members with historical class-size waiver information for further study.

District administrators also gave board members two staff salary scenarios to consider, the first one providing a salary increase of $1,000 at most step levels. The scenario would cost the district an estimated $924,000. The second salary option would provide a $1,200 increase at most step levels and cost the district an estimated $1.13 million.

The meeting ended after a discussion on the district’s student code of conduct regarding the consistency of the administration of discipline between campuses.