PERRYVILLE SCHOOLS STUDY EXPANSION

PERRYVILLE -- The Perry County School District Board of Education plans to hire an architect/planner to evaluate and possibly redesign the school's campus.

Ronald Fitch, new superintendent of the district, said one of the main concerns of school officials is the district's teacher-to-pupil ratio, which exceeds state recommendations.

He said more buildings may be needed, but specific changes would be recommended by the planner.

"They will come in and hopefully develop a master plan for the school system, a plan that the district could use for the next five to 10 years," Fitch said.

The planner will evaluate present facilities, Fitch said, and the board, as well as a long-range planning team made up of 25 citizens, would make any final decisions on what projects to pursue.

The team was established by the board last spring.

"I think the community and the school must look at the needs of the school and together decide what steps to take," he said.

The board has already narrowed the list of possible architectural firms to six, he said. The next school board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. to possibly select a firm.

The teacher-to-pupil ratio is especially high in the lower elementary grades, Fitch said. State recommendations maintain that in grades kindergarten through three, the ratio should be no more than one teacher for every 20 or 22 students.

Fitch said the district's class size for those grades is closer to 30.

"The district exceeds the state's desirable standards," he said. "It will be a matter of employing additional staff and adding additional classrooms."

Another problem the district would like to solve is not to have move students from one building to another for classes.

"It's for the safety and welfare of the kids," he said. "And moving back and forth cuts down on instructional time.

"We'd like to have kindergarten through grade five in one area, junior high in another, and high school in another."

Fitch, who took over as superintendent July 1, said any changes would be more than a year away, and that the district would likely have to ask voters to approve a tax levy or bond issue to fund them.

But he said the need to provide adequate teaching space and smaller classes is vital to the district's ability to maintain high academic standards.

"When you look at educational issues today, we need a lot smaller pupil-to-teacher ratio because of the expectations placed on teachers and schools. The services that we have to provide for students are much more."