§ Mr. CHARLES ROBERTSasked whether the new staff scale for public elementary schools, announced in paragraph 3 of circular 709, means that no individual teacher may actually teach a larger number of children than the number assigned to the grade to which he or she belongs?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANThe answer is in the negative. The staff scale set out in paragraph 3 merely affords a guide for calculating the total minimum staff required by the Board in a public elementary school, and has nothing to do with the number of children whom an individual teacher may teach. Paragraph 3 of the circular must be read in connection with paragraph 6, which announces the withdrawal of the old article 14 (which was the only provision in the code limiting the number of children whom one teacher could teach), and the substitution of a new article. This change leaves the authority at liberty to distribute the scholars among the individual teachers on the staff in any manner conducive to the efficiency of the school, subject only to the limitation of 60 children in a class.