Hanover Schools Grapple with $2.7 Million Budget Shortfall

Class sizes swell and programs cut as district adjusts to failed override

HANOVER, MA - September 18 - The Hanover School Committee met September 18 to review the impact of a $2.7 million budget shortfall resulting from a failed override vote in May. The cuts have led to increased class sizes across all grade levels and reductions in staffing and programs.

Superintendent Matthew Ferron reported that the average class size at Hanover High School jumped from 16 to 22 students, a 37.5% increase. Some high school classes now have as many as 30-34 students.

"We have actually had some classes that are closed because there's no more seats," said High School Curriculum Coordinator Matthew Plummer. "There's an accounting class with 34 students in it. There's a modern world history class with 32 students in it."

Elementary grades have also seen significant increases, with most classes now at 25-27 students, up from 20-21 last year.

The district lost one teacher in each department and four additional teachers across buildings. This has forced some creative scheduling, including combining AP classes and reducing physical education requirements.

"We have teachers teaching a course they haven't taught in a while," Plummer said. "We have one science teacher who is certified in math and is teaching a math class."

Some Advanced Placement offerings have been impacted. AP Music Theory was cut entirely, while AP art classes for different mediums were combined into one section.

School Committee member Libby Corbo expressed concern about the "collateral impacts" of larger class sizes on instruction.

"Where you might have had a level of rigor where you were assigning a three-page essay because you only had 20 to grade, but now you have 27, and that three-page essay becomes a two-page essay," Corbo said.

The committee's policy on maximum class sizes is now being exceeded in most grades and subjects. Empty classrooms were observed during a recent school visit due to lack of teachers.

Assistant Superintendent Deborah St. Ives highlighted how larger classes impact teachers' ability to connect with students.

"If you have 32 students sitting in front of you, you do not have the time to touch somebody on a shoulder or to look them in the eyes and realize that they're not looking back at you that day and something might be bothering them," St. Ives said.

The budget shortfall has also affected capital improvement plans. Superintendent Ferron said none of the projects planned for last fiscal year were completed.

"Unless we are willing to get into some kind of borrowing for roofs and HVAC systems...we're going to have a very sad looking capital budget request list," Ferron said.

The committee plans to develop multiple budget scenarios for next year, including a level-service budget, a restoration budget, and a future growth budget.