Size of Revere kindergarten class watched closely

by Sheldon Ocker

Aug. 9 school board work session

As of the date of the Revere Board of Education work session, 196 students were registered for kindergarten classes, nine fewer than the previous school year.

Superintendent Michael Tefs wants to maintain the district standard of no more than 22 students per kindergarten class. If the school year begins with 196 kindergartners, the student-teacher ratio will be 21.8.

“They [the staff] feel pretty good at 21.8,’’ Tefs said. “It’s not a number that’s out of bounds. But I’m concerned about what that number might be in the next two weeks.’’

Experience has told Tefs the number of kindergarten students might rise, even though the registration deadline has passed.

“Kindergarten is so hard to nail down,’’ he said. “Every other grade level, if you put the number up, it will be pretty close.’’

However, because many parents of kindergarten-age kids are not accustomed to registering their children for school, the deadline sometimes passes before they realize their mistake. The problem for the school is that even if the deadline is missed, the district must accept the children.

Tefs said it is possible the district might need an additional teacher for a half-day kindergarten class. So far, 128 children are registered for all-day kindergarten; 68 are registered for half a day.

At Revere, all kindergarten students report for school in the morning. Half-day students go home after the morning session. In some districts, students are separated into full-day and half-day classes. Revere blends all the students, because the staff believes this is the preferred model academically and for social and emotional well being.

Roof restoration

The partial roof replacement at Richfield Elementary is winding down, so Treasurer Rick Berdine recommended putting a new roof over the middle school gymnasium, but not until next summer.

But because of supply chain delays in acquiring material, Berdine put out bids for the job now.

“We had four potential bidders,’’ Berdine said. “One chose not to bid, three did bid. We felt good about the number of the low bidder for two reasons: A, they are doing a good job now [at Richfield Elementary] and B, they are $20,000 below No. 2. No. 3 was not quite double but came darn close, so I’m not sure where they came from.’’

The winning bid was $253,000, $247,000 for the roof and $1,500 each for four roof drains. Two skylights will be removed and a new roof will cover the entire area.

One step backward

The scarcity of bus drivers had become a problem, but the district was able to hire two new ones. Recently, two drivers resigned and there has been a search to replace them.

Condolences

Board President Keith Malick opened the meeting with an emotional statement of condolence for members of the Revere community who have recently died, citing one individual he called a friend for 35 years, with whom he played high school football.

“This morning I woke up to sad news…the unexpected passing of Brandon Buckner,’’ Malick said, adding that the community should keep his family in their thoughts and prayers. “Hug your loved ones. Life is far too precious.’’ ∞