Elementary jobs could be lost

Interim Schools Superintendent Elizabeth Morgan said the school system would have to come up with $1.1 million to retain 23.5 positions if the federal or state governments do not reauthorize the grants.

"Knowing whether we're going to have these funds or not is definitely a deciding factor," Morgan said.

Festerman said he has told school principals to be prepared for staff reductions.

Currently, 19.5 teaching positions are funded through state and federal class size reduction grants. Sixteen of the county's elementary schools have teachers funded through those grants in kindergarten through third grades.

Four of the 23.5 positions are full-time and funded through the federal Goals 2000 grant, which also is expiring, Public Information Officer Carol Mowen said.

School Board member J. Herbert Hardin said school systems throughout Maryland face similar problems as a result of the grant expiring.

"This is not just critical or unique to Washington County," Hardin said. "This is statewide."

The class size reduction program began under President Clinton in 1999 to help schools improve student achievement by hiring highly qualified teachers and by reducing class size. The goal was to get class size down in grades one through three to 18 per class.