Elementary classes are getting bigger, with no legal cap

What happened

After Garfield Elementary closed and its 113 children were spread across four schools, a parent told the board on September 28, 2026 that his first grader is in a class of 28. The district's own budget papers had warned of an impact on class size from the redistribution, and two of the four receiving schools were already at or above their state-assessed capacity. Administrators told the board that New Jersey caps class size only in pre-kindergarten, kindergarten in Title I schools and special education, so every other grade has no legal limit; the district's own policy aims to stay under 25 in kindergarten and grade 1 and allows a range up to 30 above that, and a class of 30 with one teacher and no aide is possible within it. A district employee told the board in April that a recent district update on class-size maximums was best described as the limit does not exist. Administrators said the district remains in full compliance with its own class-size policy.

Why it matters to families

Class size is the single change most visible to a family after a school closure, and in the grades where it matters most there is no legal ceiling to appeal to, only a board policy with a wide range. The parent who raised it asked the board to set a firm limit; no commitment was given. If the November referendum fails, administrators have told the board that class sizes across all grades are back on the table.

The evidence

The September 28, 2026 recording contains the parent's statement that his first grader's class has 28 children and his request that the board set class-size limits. The 2026-27 budget presentation lists the reassignment of 113 students with an impact on class size. The March 23, 2026 recording sets out the class-size policy aiming to stay under 25 in kindergarten and grade 1 with a range up to 30 above, that state law caps kindergarten only in Title I schools, and that 30 students with one teacher and no aide is possible. The April 29, 2026 recording contains the employee's remark about the limit not existing and the administration's statement of compliance, and the July 13, 2026 recording contains the warning that class sizes in all grades return to the table if the referendum fails.

The source