HORRY COUNTY, SC (WBTW)- Some Horry County schools could see an increase in class size. The district’s Finance Committee recommended two students be added to each class in middle and high school, over the next two years.
School officials say increasing class size would save the district $ 2.5 million.
The average class size for area middle schools is about 25 students, but board member Janice Morreale says that number is misleading.
“You could be gong from 25-26, but in reality you could be going from 30-32 in that classroom,” explained Morreale.
Morreale says students are not equally distributed among classes. For example, an AP class might have 15 students, while a regular class has 30 students.
“You’ve got some children who could just easily fall through the cracks because of an overcrowded classroom,” she said
The class size change also comes at the expense of teachers. School officials say the district would lose 44 postions; however, those teachers could be placed elsewhere depending on vacancies.
Horry County school officials expect 800 new students next year. The district is also building five new schools.
” I think at this time we need to really re-examine the whole budget before we increase class size,” she stated.
Horry County School board members will discuss this recommendation at the next board meeting on December 14th.
