Officials at Zion-Benton High School District 126 have decided to eliminate all basic education classes and not hire any new teachers for the 1993-94 school year, a move that has divided teachers in the financially troubled school.
After meeting in closed session for more than three hours, the school board voted unanimously last week to move the students in eight basic education classes into regular classes. Basic education classes target below-average students.
The district can no longer afford to maintain the much smaller basic education classes, Supt. David Cox said.
Cox said the district will save $120,000 by eliminating the classes and not hiring four new teachers the district needs to handle an enrollment increase of 75 students next year.
But he acknowledged that teachers were divided about the move. Some teachers are in favor of eliminating basic classes because integrating those students into regular classes may make them “feel better about themselves,” Cox said.
But other teachers say the move will harm the students because they will get less individual attention, Cox said. Each basic class had about 15 students, compared with about 27 in regular classes, he said.
