WESTFIELD — Two elementary teachers attended the Westfield Academy and Central School Board of Education meeting last month to petition the board to reverse the decision regarding the second-grade faculty.

Tamara Meyer and Carissa Bratton, both second-grade teachers in the district, asked board members to reconsider their decision to not seek a replacement for Samantha Eklund who resigned at the end of the 2023-24 school year.

At their meeting March 25, board members learned the district made several reductions to the 2024-25 budget in order to achieve a minimal tax increase. District Superintendent Michael Cipolla noted that, after much discussion, the administration, budget committee and business office arrived at necessary reductions in the budget.

Cipolla told the board that the position of an additional special education teacher was removed. Rather the district would hire for this position based on a “shift in need.” It was also decided that the district would not seek a replacement for Eklund who submitted her resignation. “As of today, the two sections of second grade will have 17-18 students with one section having a special education teacher supporting reading, math, and academic intervention services in the classroom,” he said.

Both Meyer and Bratton expressed their appreciation for the outstanding education which the district provides and their gratitude for the opportunity to be on the school faculty.

However, they said, increasing the ratio of students to teachers in the second grade will adversely affect the quality of education that the students will receive. “We are worried about the quality of education our school will provide in the future,” Bratton said. “I respect the board’s commitment to fiscal responsibility, but why us? Why now?”

Meyer noted research clearly shows the benefits of small class size. “We are opposed to the elimination of a teacher,” she said. “The three sections will need to be combined into two sections. This will hurt our students with the higher student-teacher ratio.”

In other business, the board declared a list of items as surplus, including old televisions, VCRs, camcorders, earth globes, cafeteria items, a barbell leg press and outdated shop equipment.

Board members also approved the creation of the position of Operations Assistant, and approved the probationary appointment of Kimberly Wright as Operations Assistant, effective Aug. 12.

The Board appointed Johnnie Lindstrom, who holds Initial Certificate Students With Disabilities (All Grades) in the Special Education tenure area for a probationary period commencing on August 1, 2024 and ending on July 31, 2028.

During the period of board commentary, President Wendy Dyment reported on her attendance at the New York State School Board Association meeting, during which members shared updates on artificial intelligence. The impact of A.I. in education has been a topic of concern for several months. “There will be a lot of new frontiers here that will require discussion,” she said. “They also talked about declining enrollment across the state.”