Hatboro-Horsham Superintendent Discusses Declining Enrollment, Changing Staffing Needs

Hatboro-Horsham School District superintendent Dr. Curtis Griffin gave a presentation at the June 3 school board meeting, in which he explained how trends in declining enrollment and certain academic and support needs may shape the future staffing requirements of the district.

Griffin began his presentation by clarifying any confusion the school community may have over teacher reductions throughout the years.

“The reason why we needed less teachers is because we have had an incredible decline in enrollment,” Griffin said.

Using a Power Point presentation, Griffin displayed a chart marking the decline in enrollment throughout each elementary school, the middle school and high schools. He said, since 2002, at the elementary level, enrollment has been down by 516 students, an approximately 21-percent decline. In recent years, at the elementary level, class sizes have hovered between 250-350 students.

He then compared the elementary students’ class sizes with the current average of the approximately 400 per grade level of the district’s middle school. This trend of enrollment decline, Griffin said, will continue to the high school level.

“The overall district is going to be the lowest it has been in 12 years,” Griffin told the board.

“As we begin to reduce staffing, it’s all tied to the population,” Griffin continued, adding that program changes were also a consideration.

He also noted that the district may see a quick growth in enrollment, citing the recent available housing development in the township; although when such growth may occur is yet unknown.

In light of the current declining enrollment, Griffin proposed a reduction of 2 to 3 staff positions at each of the levels of school throughout the district through attrition. 

A trade-off for new positions

At the same time, Griffin also proposed new positions for the district. While he noted that the district will engage in realignment of current positions to fulfill district needs, he said that recommended new positions will not cost more than the current budget, and were designed to stem furloughs and further reductions:

• Autistic Support at Keith Valley Middle School for $49,098 — Griffin said that several years ago the district realized that the autistic population was growing, and wanted to support the students in-house, rather than send them outside the district. Right now there are three autistic classrooms at the elementary schools, and the position would expand the support to the middle school.

• Learning Support at Keith Valley for $49,098 — The position would extend the support to eighth-grade students.

• School Psychologist at the district level for $56,393 — Griffin said that the district currently hires an independent contractor, but it would be more cost-effective to have such a service in-house.

• Special Education and Support Service at the district level for $38,000 — This position will go from part-time one to full-time next year.

• Student Assistance Coordinator at the district level for $65,000 — Another cost-effective move from outside contractor to in-house position.

• Data Coordinator Application Support at the district level for $25,000 — According to Griffin there is a great need for data management and data input.

Griffin further showed that there are at least 19 staff members that have announced retirement or resigned since the beginning of the school year. In light of this data, Griffin said that other new positions may become available as early as July.

“I feel very good at where we are today in putting together a staffing plan for next year,” Griffon said, adding after the meeting, “I believe we will have some open positions, especially in special education.”

The Hatboro-Horsham School Board is expected to take action with the superintendent’s staffing plans at the June 17 board meeting.