While figures pulled from the U.S. Department of Education show that teacher-student ratio declined from 22.3 in 1970 to 15.3 in 2008, nationwide reports have indicated a surge in class size in the last couple years, since the onset of the recession.
William Morris, head of school at Friends Academy in Locust Valley, said some students had transferred from public schools after witnessing a decline in services, an increase in class sizes and issues connected to classroom management.
Students said that they are not only angry about rising tuition, but the decline in their education: class sizes are larger and students are limited in the number of courses they can take.
"We do the country no favors if we allow the weakness of the economy to strip qualified teachers from our schools, which in turn would result in exploding class sizes and a decline in educational opportunities for children," Mr. Obey said.
This region experienced an early and rapid decline in working-class family size from the 1880s.
But despite the new money, and a decline in student enrollment citywide, class sizes have increased, according to the lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in the Bronx.
They find that reducing class size in the 8th grade by one pupil (a 5% decline) increases educational attainment by 0.02 years on average and the probability of completing upper secondary education by 0.4%, a small effect.
According to the most recent national data available from the Education Department, student-teacher ratio declined from 22.3 in 1970 to 15.3 in 2008, when class sizes averaged at 20 in elementary schools and 23.4 in secondary schools.
