Most school systems in Northwest Georgia bought equipment such as computers a few years ago when the maximum number of students per class was about 28.
But some classrooms have more students than computer stations since the state Board of Education last spring lifted class-size limits for this school year because of a struggling economy, reduced education funding and fewer teachers.
Schools in Catoosa, Dade and Whitfield counties and Chickamauga are doing some shuffling to make sure students can get to technology they need, school officials said.
Gordon Lee High School English teacher Mandy Sturdivant said her classes have increased by as many as seven students. That’s not over the local maximum set by the system since the state lifted its requirements, but the difference has her looking for some remedies.
“When we bought computers, the maximum class size in the state of Georgia was 28 for a career-tech or vocational-type classroom,” she said. “Now, you can have 32. You’ll have more bodies but not the equipment.”
Sturdivant said she plans to give students more group assignments and possibly rotate access to computers among students.
Chickamauga has a three-school system with a little more than 1,300 students, so a mismatch of students and equipment is felt more quickly than in larger systems.
Chickamauga Elementary and Gordon Lee Middle schools each have computer labs, and Gordon Lee High School has three to ease any access problems, Superintendent Melody Day said.
“The high school and middle school have rolling computer labs, as well,” Day said. “We may not have extra equipment, (but) what we do have is in good condition and readily available for our students and teachers to use.”
In Catoosa, School Superintendent Denia Reese said most classrooms have a couple of student computers, and the one- to two-student increase in Catoosa’s class sizes this year will not affect access to technology.
Catoosa has about 10,400 students.
Officials remedied access problems with mobile laptop carts, and “mini-labs” are available in school media centers, Reese said.
“Interactive white boards and slates have really helped us make the most of our funding,” she said, referring to the chalkboard-sized, wall-mounted computer screens installed in many North Georgia classrooms.
In Whitfield, the largest system in the region with 13,000 students, officials said class-size maximums increased but there are plenty of computers available.
“We’ll have about the same number of students, so it’s just a matter of moving some things around,” spokesman Eric Beavers said. “We don’t expect any problems.”
Dade’s system, nearly as small as Chickamauga’s with four schools and 2,300 students, avoided most access problems this year because class sizes didn’t increase at Dade County High School as a result of a shift from a block schedule to a seven-period day, Superintendent Patty Priest said.
That created more classes rather than larger ones, Priest said.
“I don’t think the equipment will be a problem for us since we had a few extras in the labs,” she said.
Walker County science and technology coordinator Wayne Robinson said no shortages have been noted yet. If there are, Robinson said, his staff will help teachers move and reinstall equipment as needed.
Walker students return to class Monday.
Officials started planning for possible problems when state officials discussed class-size changes last spring, Robinson said.
The importance of technology and equipment has grown over the years and state funding has not kept up, he said.
Walker County received a number of technology grants over the past 18 months for updates and purchases that allow the system to keep pace with needs without tapping local money, he said.
“At one point, computer technology may have been seen as a luxury,” he said. “Today, that is simply no longer the case.”