For reporters · Updated Apr 22, 2026
Sycamore is cutting a 2nd-grade teacher at Montgomery Elementary, at the single grade band the research most clearly protects.
Every claim on this page is citable. Every number traces to a published paper or Sycamore Community Schools' own financial documents. The full brief for parents is at keepourteachers.org.
The Story in One Paragraph
Sycamore Community Schools' Board of Education has cut a 2nd-grade teaching position at Montgomery Elementary for the 2026–27 school year, taking that grade's staffing from five sections to four and raising class sizes from roughly 21–23 to about 28 students. The research on K–3 class-size effects is unusually clear — Tennessee's Project STAR (the only large randomized trial of American class size) showed small-class K–3 students were 7 months of learning ahead by the end of third grade, and Harvard-Berkeley-Northwestern economists (Chetty et al., QJE 2011) later linked those same students to tax records twenty years on and found higher college attendance, home ownership, and retirement savings — with effects about twice as large for Black students and students on free lunch.
Three Hooks
- Grade-band specificity. The decision targets 2nd grade — the single grade-band where the research on class-size effects is most conclusive. Moving a K–3 class from ~22 to 28 crosses a research-identified threshold.
- Equity stakes. Every rigorous study that disaggregates results finds effects roughly twice as large for Black students and students on free lunch. The students with the least margin for error are the ones this cut hits hardest.
- Local financial context. Sycamore has already cut 14.31 certified FTE between 2024–25 and 2025–26 (per the district's own October 2025 Five-Year Forecast). Administrative FTE went up by one over the same period. Since 2022, $15.96 million has exited the General Fund for capital transfers and advances — including two projects (the natatorium and a baseball/softball complex) added after the 2019 bond vote.
The Meeting
Tuesday, April 29, 2026 · 6:00–8:00 PM
Kenwood Learning Commons · 11120 Kenwood Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45242
Sycamore Community Schools Board of Education · Regular Meeting
Live stream: Zoom Meeting ID
937 6301 0127, passcode
654692
Agendas: BoardDocs
Public-comment sign-up: Treasurer/CFO Brody Burson,
[email protected]
Local Context
- Sycamore Community Schools is 85% locally funded.
- Montgomery Elementary is one of five elementary schools in the district.
- A November 2026 levy is already on the calendar (Forecast slide 19). Filing deadlines: July 26, 2026 (Resolution of Necessity) and August 7, 2026 (Board of Elections).
- Three General Fund debts (Energy Conservation, Blue Ash Elementary, District Office) mature in December 2025, freeing $866,000/year starting in FY27 — more than enough to cover the marginal cost of one teaching position.
Research Sources (Direct DOIs)
- Krueger, A.B. (1999). "Experimental Estimates of Education Production Functions." QJE 114(2).
doi.org/10.1162/003355399556052
- Chetty, R. et al. (2011). "How Does Your Kindergarten Classroom Affect Your Earnings?" QJE 126(4).
doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjr041
- Dynarski, S., Hyman, J. & Schanzenbach, D.W. (2013). JPAM 32(4).
doi.org/10.1002/pam.21715
- Finn, J.D., Gerber, S.B. & Boyd-Zaharias, J. (2005). "Small Classes in the Early Grades." JEP 97(2).
doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.97.2.214
- Filges, T. et al. (2018). "Small Class Sizes for Improving Student Achievement." Campbell Systematic Review.
doi.org/10.4073/csr.2018.10
- Full bibliography: keepourteachers.org/#sources
Sycamore Financial Source Documents
Assets for Reprint