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The optimum class size - and who should determine it - was once again a prickly subject for the Steamboat Springs School Board during a meeting Monday night. Even as the board continues to grapple with the issue, there may be some level of closure at the next board meeting, when parents are invited to share their views.

At a study session Monday night, School Board members aired their opinions about how the policy for class size should be determined. The board has scheduled the topic for its next regular meeting, Feb. 23.

Even so, class size is not yet on the table. First the board must determine who controls the policy - administrators or the board.

Board member John DeVincentis said the class-size policy was once controlled by the board but that it is now controlled by the administrative team, led by Superintendent Shalee Cunningham.

DeVincentis did not express concern about Cunningham's handling of the issue, but he said he would like it to be in board control so a future superintendent could not easily change the policy.

"I don't know what Shalee is going to bring to us, but if someone else comes in and economic times are bad, they could have 30 kids in a class," he said. "We have our values in our community. I want to reflect our parents' values."

Board President Robin Crossan said she is content to leave the issue in Cunningham's hands for the time being.

"I've thought a lot about it being an administrative policy versus a board policy, and I would like to give Shalee the opportunity to work through it as an administrative policy ... before I would say it should be a board policy," she said.

Crossan said she thinks the community's values will be reflected in the policy.

"I think we already have very high standards, and whether it's a board policy or an administrative policy, we know what the community standards are, and they will always be in the forefront. Our results are very high already," she said.

District meets policy

In November, Cunningham reported that the district meets its current policy of an average of 19 students per teacher, though some classes can have up to 25 students.

Crossan said she would like to know how even lower class sizes could affect students.

"It would be interesting to see a district that has 15 kids in a classroom versus a district with 20 or 23. Where do we stop getting the bang for the buck?" she asked. "How much more can we push this district? We're very lucky. I would vote for it to stay an administrative policy."

The board took no formal action during the study session. It has been added to the Feb. 23 agenda.

DeVincentis said he has been inviting parents to the next meeting to discuss parent concerns.

Board member Lisa Brown said she wants to look at the issue with data to back it up.

"If we are discussing class size it's totally disingenuous to discuss it without monetary figures," she said.

DeVincentis has long asked for more data about parent views on class sizes and he said that if the results show parents are pleased with the current ratios, he would drop the issue.

"If 50.1 percent of parents came back and said they were happy, I'm done," he said.