The trebuchets may no longer fly at Riverton High School.
The Middle-Ages war implements, similar to catapults, are a yearly tradition for Lisa Craig's physics students, a chance to apply scientific principles learned throughout the year.
But with the Jordan School District facing a $30 million shortfall, Craig may lose one of her 90 minute prep periods. That would limit the time spent with each student and make work on individual projects, like assembling deadly weapons, nearly impossible.
To cope with the budget hole, caused partly by plummeting property values thanks to the recession, the district plans to lay off 250 teachers. But those who manage to keep their jobs will likely suffer as well. Elementary teachers will gain roughly four children in each class, two in each session of kindergarten, while high school teachers will teach seven out of eight classes on a block schedule, losing one free period.
Cutting that many teachers would boost teacher-student ratios, said Jordan spokeswoman Melinda Colton. Those ratios max out at about one teacher per 31 students at the high school level, although the actual numbers could be even higher.
The ratios are based on a formula used by the district's human resources department to calculate how many full-time teachers --- or their equivalent -- to hire, Colton said. Core classes required for all students like English, biology and algebra could easily have more than 40 students.
Those numbers could hurt schools' accreditation, according to fliers distributed earlier this week by the Jordan Education Association, although district officials maintain they won't let that happen.
Utah already receives an exemption from the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools, allowing class sizes 30 percent larger than the national average. Certain classes, like P.E. and choir, are exempt from the standards to allow more students to participate.
Even with the more liberal standard, Riverton High School was placed on "advised" status early this year by the accrediting agency for having too many students per teacher.
The Northwest standard for Utah is 210 students per teacher on a block schedule, said Georgia Loutensock, of the Utah Department of Education. By teaching an extra class, Jordan teachers could easily reach 219 students.
"If you have fewer numbers of students, you can do a better job of meeting the individual needs," Loutensock said.
Despite the threatened job losses, Loutensock does not believe the district will immediately lose accreditation. That would require deviations over a number of years, and the district is already brainstorming ideas on restructuring classes to meet standards, said Jordan Superintendent Barry Newbold. Riverton's situation, he added, will be eased with Herriman High's opening next year.
Meanwhile, teachers are concerned about the process the district will use to conduct the layoffs. They will be cut by seniority with individual schools, not time spent with the district.
John Glime has taught sixth grade for seven years at West Jordan Elementary, making him relatively immune. But he worries about veteran teachers at older schools, since it won't matter how many years they have with the district. A third-year teacher could be spared by seniority at a new school, but a 20-year veteran could lose a job at a more established neighborhood school if all other teachers outrank them.
"I understand budget cuts," Glime said, "but I think they should act more in partnership with us in how that comes about."
The district believes the plan could end up saving teacher jobs, said spokesman Steven Dunham. District-wide seniority would cut new teachers while putting district-level administrators with teaching experience back in the classroom. Under the school-seniority system, administrative staff will downsized too, to save another $2.5 million.
Craig, who has taught at Riverton four years, hopes to keep her job even if she won't have time for as many experiments. She worries about the students who now come before and after class for extra help, since the loss of her prep period will force her to use the time for grading papers. Losing the personal touch that makes teaching so enjoyable would be the greatest loss of the budget cuts, she said.
"We won't be able to form personal relationships with them," Craig said. "We won't have time to spend with them."
