WETHERSFIELD - Charles Wright Elementary School has a new teacher to accommodate the forming of a new fourth grade section, Wethersfield Superintendent of Schools Michael Emmett said at the Aug. 26 Board of Education meeting.

       The move, which comes a few months after a fourth grade teacher was transferred from Charles Wright to Alfred Hanmer Elementary School due to rising class sizes at the latter, was prompted by student enrollment of 27 pupils for each of the school’s sections for that level, Emmett said.

       â€�"One of the problems is that we really have limited physical space,” Emmett said during the meeting. â€�"It reaches a point where it’s not feasible to operate that way.”

       Charles Wright ended up on the losing end of an early June transfer of one of its teachers to Alfred Hanmer, where class sizes were projected to reach 24 to 25 students. Charles Wright was supposed to lose a fourth grade section with the redistribution of staff, bringing anticipated levels-based on the numbers for the rising third grade group-to 26 students in each of two classrooms. Parents of Charles Wright students came out to the Board of Education’s June 10 meeting to speak out against the decision.

       â€�"Twenty-six students in a classroom is just too large,” said Wethersfield resident and Charles Wright parent John Baker at the June 10 meeting. â€�"Plus, there’s no guarantee the number of students will remain the same.”

       As for Hamner, Emmett said that he plans on adding a paraprofessional to help teachers to better deal with some of the class size complications there.

       In a budget year in which Emmett and the Board of Education were able to fund long-sought initiatives such as the replenishing of the district’s math curriculum supervisor position to the tune of $104,000, new teachers were not part of the plan. At the June 10 meeting, Emmett said that it would cost the district $180,000 to open up three new teaching positions.

       â€�"That has budget implications,” Emmett said. â€�"We’ll look at our lines and see. We may look at our substitute lines.”

       The Board of Education can cap its spending of the originally allotted amounts for budget line items at 70 percent in order to adjust for unexpected needs, such as the hiring of a new teacher, Emmett said.

       All areas will be explored, but Emmett sees some possible wiggle room when it comes to professional development.

       â€�"I’ve been a staunch advocate for professional development, but we’re planned through January, so we’ll see,” he said. â€�"If we’re short, we’ll scale back on the professional development opportunities, which is hard, because that enhances the quality of instruction and that’s what we’re all about.”

       With the additional teacher, elementary class sizes throughout the district do not exceed 24 students, Emmett said.