Tosa Teaching Staff Down, But Most Layoffs Avoided

Wauwatosa schools will have the equivalent of 9.6 fewer teachers and slightly larger secondary class sizes in 2011-2012, the School Board learned in a presentation Monday night from the district administration.

While most of  the focus was on sealing interim deals with Wauwatosa Schools union employees, the School Board was also given the annual staffing report for the coming year at its regular bi-weekly meeting.

"When I look back over past years, the staffing report always begins by saying that this has been a challenging year," said Human Resources Director Dan Chanen. "This year it is even more so."

Chanen noted that while teaching staff reductions totaled 9.6 full-time equivalents (FTEs), most reductions were achieved through attrition or the elimination of part-time positions. There were two full layoffs and two partial layoffs affecting full-time teachers.

The district decreased teaching staff FTEs by 7.6 in the middle schools and high schools, by a net of 1.0 in the elementary school level and by 1.0 at the district's alternative school, which serves students who are challenged in the mainstream school environment.

Among the nine regular elementary schools, Eisenhower, Lincoln, Washington and Wilson schools each lost one class section, but those losses were partly offset by the hiring of three  elementary teachers for the new charter Wauwatosa Montessori School.

Chanen said that the class section reductions at those four schools were based on declines in class sizes as larger classes move through the schools.

At the secondary level, including middle and high schools, the goal was to reduce staff and increase class sizes with as little impact as possible on student learning. Aiming for an increase of no more than 0.5 in the pupil-to-teacher ratio district-wide, the administration set a target of increasing that ratio by 1.0 at each secondary school.

Based on projections, the pupil-to-teacher ratio for the coming year will rise to 25.5 students per class, on average, at Whitman and Longfellow middle schools, and to 26.5 students per class at East and West high schools.

In terms of teachers, the reductions in FTEs at each of these schools are as follows:

• East High School – 2.5
• West High School – 1.0
• Whitman Middle School – 1.6
• Longfellow Middle School – 2.3
• Tosa School of the Trades – 0.2

Staffing levels for the year are key to balancing the budget, Chanen said. "The main driver of staffing and the budget is teacher FTEs.

"It did create a lot of challenges, but this in conjunction with the (union) agreements will lead to a balanced budget."

The board Monday approved interim pay freeze and benefit concessions from two of four employee unions and delayed action on a third that members felt needed clarification. If that agreement is passed as well, they will together close most of a budget shortfall of $6.5 million that would otherwise have resulted in more than 100 teacher layoffs and an overall increase in class size of 10 students.