First-Grade Class Could be Added to Cedar Hill

Montville Superintendent Dr. Paul Fried might recommend opening a third first-grade section at Cedar Hill elementary school, he said at the township board of education meeting Tuesday night at Montville Township High School.

"Present time, two sections of first grade have been budgeted for," he said. "The total number of students has exceeded the board guidelines for two sections. I'm going to watch closely over the next couple of weeks. If it continues to exceed guidelines, my recommendation will be that we open a third section."

According to board of education guidelines, a third section can be added if student enrollment exceeds 47. Currently, there are 50 first-graders set to attend Cedar Hill in the fall.

Adding a third section would mean hiring a new teacher in what is already considered by the board to be already stretched budget, a fact that is not lost on  Fried.

"It's a tight budget," he said. "Any time we have to find new teachers, we have to find a new line on the budget to pull from. There are no contingency positions in the budget, no one just sitting around waiting for a situation like this."

According to the board, Fried can make the decision to add a third section unilaterally after Aug. 1. He plans to take the available time to monitor the enrollment numbers and make "an informed decision."

"Most of my career was spent in elementary education," he said. "I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way. Once placement information is sent to parents, it is too late to go backwards. [The parents'] kids lives are kind of set from that moment on."

Should a third section be needed, Fried says he will consult with Cedar Hill principal Michael J. Raj to fill the added teacher position. Fried was instated as superintendent on July 1.

"Being new, I would be getting a lot of guidance from the administrators," he said. "I would have to rely a great deal on the principal's recommendation."

Area resident Terry Becker supports the creation of a third first-grade section.

"We have 25 kids in each section," she said. "That's a lot of kids in a classroom, a lot for a teacher to watch over. We don't have any classroom aids."

Becker, who has two children currently enrolled at Cedar Hill, would like to see Fried appoint former first-grade teacher Trudy Coppola to the third section, should one be created. According to Becker, because Coppola was not tenured, she was let go after one year of teaching first-grade students.

"She is entrenched in the fabric of the community," she said. "She educates every part of our children. We can't lose her. We have the teacher, we don't need to look for her. She's an invaluable teacher."

The board of education's next meeting Tuesday, July 27, at the high school. While that date falls before the August 1 deadline, the board is expected to have a better of the need for an additional first-grade section at Cedar Hill.