Antioch schools may trim the Blue Team

Proposed teacher cuts in Antioch Elementary District 34 drew staunch opposition from parents and students last month, sending administrators back to drawing board.

On Tuesday, Superintendent Scott Thompson came back with a compromise: the district would scrap plans to eliminate one teacher each at W.C. Petty and Antioch Elementary schools, but would shrink the number of teachers assigned to the Blue Team at Antioch Upper Grade School.

The move failed to appease dozens of angry parents, teachers and students who fought to keep the team in tact.

"Mr. Thompson, you said the plan being presented tonight is the best plan, but I feel that is only an opinion," said Jay Marshall, a science teacher on the Blue Team. "The Blue Team is a concept that works. It is a concept worth saving and it is a concept worth spending money on."

After an hour and a half of public comments, the board voted 4-2 to create a subcommittee to study the Blue Team concept.

The Blue Team was created in the 2005-06 school year for a group of Antioch Upper Grade School students who are taught by the same teachers for all three years of middle school.

Under Thompson's plan, the team would be shrunk from five teachers to three, with one teacher being eliminated and the other reassigned as a reading intervention specialist for the school.

The three remaining Blue Team teachers would teach science, social studies, math and reading to seventh- and eighth-graders. Sixth-graders would no longer be part of the team.

"The Blue Team was created to absorb future growth that did not occur," Thompson said. "The district has been spending money to keep this in place for several years. It is a very good concept, and this is not a plan to get rid of a very good team. But it would be irresponsible for me to continue to spend money when the kids aren't here."

Lauren Barry, a seventh-grader on the Blue Team, said the thought of not having the same five teachers next year is heartbreaking.

"Not everyone has a great home life, but when they have great people to look up to, it makes them want to do so much better," Barry said. "My teachers are the best. They understand me; they know how I learn. I get straight-As every quarter because they are excellent people to look up to."

Since February, District 34 has been grappling with staffing for the 2008-2009 school year. Thompson said the district's total enrollment is going down by 20 students next year and its sixth-grade class will be smaller by 36 students.

Thompson said even with the Blue Team staffing change, class size at AUGS would be between 23 and 24 students.

"It is typical for districts to look at their enrollments every year and make staffing changes," Thompson said. "We've been in growth mode, so we've always been talking about how many to add as opposed to reducing."

The subcommittee created Tuesday is expected to have a recommendation for the board in the next 30 days.