GREENSBORO, N.C. — Changes in the classrooms are frustrating some Triad families.
WFMY News 2 received calls and saw social media posts claiming Guilford County Schools teachers are being removed from their classrooms.
The district said the change is to cover staffing needs elsewhere. We learned teachers are sometimes reassigned to stay in line with state law.
According to state law, K-12 class sizes get reported to the state at the end of the second school month. The state has a requirement, depending on the grade, of what they call a student-to-teacher ratio.
Before school starts, each district estimates and hires teachers based on enrollment, but that can change once students start school.
"Sometimes, we end up with fewer or more students in a building than what was projected," Joanna Pendleton said. "Next, we make those adjustments at the district level. There are a lot of factors outside of the control of anybody — especially at the school level."
She is the President of the Guilford County Association of Educators.
Guilford County Schools looks at class sizes on the 20th day of the school year. Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools and Alamance Burlington check on the 10th day.
A former Triad teacher said consistent attendance is key for districts during that time period. A former WS/FCS teacher has seen the results of adjusting firsthand.
"Our 6th-grade numbers weren't what they were predicted, so we lost one of our 6th-grade teaching placements," Carrie Burch recalled. "We had 90 students who were 6th graders and 10 days later, we're saying we are changing all your classes."
The change comes so districts can balance a student-to-teacher ratio, but some educators argue it's a funding problem.
"The real issue here is there is a nationwide shortage of public school workers," Pendleton said. "That is the fault of the bodies who are responsible for funding our schools at appropriate levels in North Carolina — that is the legislature. When we have these student enrollment issues, which we know are going to happen at some level, we are put in a tight spot."
State lawmakers recently passed a budget that includes a total of nearly $13.5 billion for the K-12 public school system.