Third graders may find themselves getting a little cozier with
their neighbors next school year if the school board goes ahead
with a decision to temporarily increase class sizes.
Third graders may find themselves getting a little cozier with their neighbors next school year if the school board goes ahead with a decision to temporarily increase class sizes.
In an attempt to accommodate Gilroy’s burgeoning student population, the school board is considering four options, whittled down from eight: increase class size at the third grade level, increase capacity at district elementary schools or build a new elementary school, either on an undeveloped plot of land in southwest Gilroy or on the old Las Animas Elementary School site on Wren Avenue.
But the school board’s commitment to neighborhood schools is steering trustees away from district staff’s recommendation to build a ninth elementary school on Wren Avenue and toward more temporary, albeit painful in some cases, solutions.
The combination of increasing class sizes at the third grade level and adding capacity at the district’s existing elementary schools is a likely option.
“I’m not in favor of it but I can live with it,” Trustee Denise Apuzzo said of increasing third grade class sizes from 20 to 25 students. “I don’t like it but we need more room.”
Increasing the ratio of third graders per classroom could mean an additional eight classrooms for the district, according to the district’s calculations.
A new elementary school in southwest Gilroy, where the construction of nearly 2,000 homes has been shelved during the economic slump, is another preferred option, but not until housing construction starts and the district has a better idea of what the developer will contribute in terms of infrastructure upgrades.
Trustees plan to make a final decision at a Feb. 5 board meeting.