William Hatch Elementary School PTO
William Hatch Elementary School PTO
On February 19, 2008, many of you joined the Hatch PTO Board along with our teachers and principal in a discussion with superintendent Dr. Connie Collins and Trish Carlson from the District 97 Board of Education regarding staffing at Hatch school.
Prompted by that meeting the Hatch PTO Board sent a letter to the District 97 Board of Education. The letter expressed our concerns over the formula used to allocate teachers and the impact that formula has at small schools.
Around March 21, 2008, you should have received a response letter from Dr. Collins. Attached is an additional response from Michelle Harton on behalf of the D97 Board. The budget management document mentioned in the letter can be found [here]. Both response letters have stated that the D97 Board will continue to use the current staffing formula. The formula uses total student population in grades 1-5, rather than the population in each grade, to allocate teachers. This formula forced a split-level classroom for the past two years for 4th and 5th grade.
While the response is not what we would have hoped, the Hatch PTO Board has decided to take no further action on this issue. Based on the expected enrollment for the 2008-09 school year, Mrs. Carter does not anticipate the need for any split-level classes. If you would like to comment on the situation please contact a PTO Board member or attend the next PTO meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 13th at 7:00 pm.
Best Regards,
The Hatch PTO Board