WAUKESHA -- Less than a month from the start of the school year, parents in Waukesha are learning the district is increasing some class sizes because they do not have enough dual language teachers.
One of those teachers was just fired last month over the "Rainbowland" song controversy.
The district warns certain grades at Heyer [3rd grade], Hawthorne [5th grade] and Bethesda Elementary [3rd, 4th & 5th grades] will have class sizes of 30 or more.
They are giving parents until Wednesday to decide whether to move their child to a different school because of this.
Becky Gilligan says her daughter's 5th grade class at Heyer Elementary will not be affected by the change, but worries about the Dual Language Program as a whole, "It seems like they're shuffling teachers around to try to plug holes. It's not something you just try out cause it's whole different way of learning."
Gilligan feels the ripple effect began last school year when a dual language teacher at Heyer Elementary was put on leave and later fired for publicly criticizing the district's decision to remove a song called "Rainbowland" from a school concert.
We asked the district how many bilingual teachers and assistants they have, and how many more they need to hire to get back to normal levels. The district's reply did not have that answer but ensure they are, "…actively... interviewing teachers and aides to fill these positions."
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