Scuttlebutt in slang usage means rumor or gossip, deriving from the nautical term for the cask used to serve water (or, later, a water fountain).[1][2]

The term corresponds to the iconic colloquial concept of a water cooler in an office setting, which at times becomes the locus of congregation and casual discussion. Water for immediate consumption on a sailing ship was conventionally stored in a scuttled butt: A butt (cask) which had been scuttled by making a hole in it so the water could be withdrawn. Since sailors exchanged gossip when they gathered at the scuttlebutt for a drink of water, scuttlebutt became Navy slang for gossip or rumours.[2]

For obvious reasons, K is the first year that many students enroll at CSD, and historically there have also been some who stayed in private K programs and went to CSD for 1st grade. Dr. Van Soelen showed the current numbers of students by grade, and you can clearly see the bulge of K and 1st graders this year that has driven the overall increases. He basically said that the projections for next year and the year after assumed that bulge will continue, but not substantially increase.

This is part of my overall concern with our ability to efficiently utilize capacity… and the opportunity costs of running near 100% of capacity.

As slide 12 of the presentation illustrates, students don’t necessarily show up in enrollment zones neatly divided into blocks of 22 children per classroom. I understand that if necessary, we can shuffle tuition students around and force new students to attend schools outside their enrollment zones. But there are limits. Also, when every room is a “regular” classroom, then music, art, and special instruction tend to get marginalized and/or sidelined.

I’m also guessing that larger classroom sizes may be part of the equation. In the “Enrollment Zone Update”, Dr. Edwards used the words: “If a 22 student/classroom ratio was used”. This is much softer wording than a strict 22 student per classroom cap. State law on classroom size caps was modified last year. I believe the cap is now the average classroom size across the school district. In the light of the State changes, it would be nice if our BoE would set a cap on the maximum number of students permitted in individual classrooms.

The sky isn’t falling. But we are very tight on brick and mortar capacity. It looks like the plan continues to be “a year at a time… tweak as we go…”. However, it is encouraging that there appears to be some planning for the possibility of continued enrollment growth.