School directors in Mt. Lebanon this week approved changes for elementary schools in the next school year, including appointing a new principal for one school and hearing from a group of parents about reducing class sizes in another.
At its Monday meeting, the board approved Melissa Nelson as the new principal of Washington Elementary School. Ms. Nelson previously served as the Mellon Middle School assistant principal before stepping in as interim principal of Washington during the 2016-17 school year due to the retirement of former Washington principal Mary Kay Davis.
Superintendent Timothy Steinhauer said the district was lucky to get Ms. Nelson, who holds two master’s degrees and is currently a candidate for a doctorate in education from the University of Pittsburgh.
“I want to sincerely thank you,” Ms. Nelson told the board. “I understand the gravity of being an administrator in this district.”
A group of parents from the Lincoln Elementary School expressed concern to the board about this year’s third-grade class, which was condensed from four to three sections.
The class of 76 students had previously been split into sections of about 19 students each, but this year, class sizes were 26, 26 and 24 — higher than the district’s average elementary student/teacher ratio of 22.
Some parents reported homework difficulty, reduced engagement and limited teacher/student interaction.
“She was feeling discouraged,” said Laura Young about her daughter, who didn’t make math goals for the first time this year. “There were so many kids in the room.”
Marcia Arnold said she was disappointed with the district.
“I think that in the Mt. Lebanon School District, we can do better than 27 children in a class,” she said. “[My daughter] did much better in her other three years.”
“I can say it makes a huge difference to have five extra kids,” said parent Kimberly Yetter, a former elementary teacher.
Assistant superintendent Marybeth Irvin said about 22 kids per teacher is ideal, but it’s difficult to achieve with different class sizes in each grade, budgetary concerns and seven neighborhood elementary schools with population spikes.
“It’s very hard to have a consistent class size in elementary school,” Ms. Irvin said.
Despite the larger class sizes this year, the students met or exceeded achievement goals, and administrators said they would assess the needs of the class this summer to decide whether to add a new section in the next school year.
“Rest assured, we are watching it very carefully,” Mr. Steinhauer said.
Also Monday, the board approved a raft of raises for nonunion employees, including custodians, administrative assistants, specialists and administrators. The annual raises reflect an average increase of 2.9 percent.
A new five-year contract for Ms. Irvin was approved with an annual salary of $136,708, effective July 1. The salary represents a raise of 7.9 percent.
Assistant superintendent Ron Davis got a salary bump of 3.3 percent, to $149,000 for this year.
The board also approved a 10-cent hike in lunch prices for next year, bringing the cost to $2.40 for elementary schools and $2.55 for secondary schools. Breakfast prices and free and reduced-price school lunch programs remain unchanged.
Janice Crompton: jcrompton@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1159 or on Twitter @janicecrompton.
First Published: June 23, 2017, 4:00 a.m.
