Belmont School District to Hire Four Teachers

The Belmont-Redwood Shores School District will hire four new teachers next year as the district is experiencing “unprecedented growth.”

Board President Andrew Stulbarg said the additional staff is necessary to accommodate more students, and also acknowledged it's unusual to be hiring during tough economic times.

According to the $29 million budget that was unanimously approved by the board on June 23, enrollment during the next three years is expected to increase by about 9 percent, from 3,352 students to 3,655.

“We’re experiencing unprecedented growth,” Stulbarg said.

He said the salaries will be paid for by the general fund, and that the district has a history of penny-pinching through the tough economic times.

“We run incredibly lean, and we have an amazing staff and an amazing community,” he said.

Furthermore, the nonprofit run by parents – School-Force – raised and donated $1.1 million that prevented the execution of pink slips or the requirement that staff take .

Stulbarg said that the district, which governs seven schools for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, did have to increase its class sizes from 20 to 25 students last year. That number is not expected to change. The libraries were also .

Principal Cherie Ho of the district’s newest school Redwood Shores Elementary said she has seen some tough times during her 20 years working within the district but that the future for the 2011 class is looking bright.

Ho said last week she was still waiting for the district to provide her with an overview of the budget costs and how they may affect her school, but that she is pleased with the preliminary outcome.

Since Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed the state budget on June 23, Assistant Superintendent of the school district Nellie Hungerford said there would be a 45-day revision once it finally passes.

Stulbarg said the district’s budget, however, assumes the state will give only what it is legally obligated to give.