New Hartford Superintendent Speaks Out on Elementary Class Sizes

New Hartford School District Superintendent Dr. Cosimo Tangora was pleased his school budget passed on Tuesday, just as every district in the Utica Rome Mohawk Valley region did. Now, for Tangora, he's focused on dealing with people's concerns over class sizes in some elementary grade levels.

Tangora said this year is not different than any other year. He said the district looks at enrollment for each grade level in each school, and adjusts accordingly. Tangora said you can't arbitrarily pick the perfect class size without looking at all of the conditions.

One example he gave was the 15 student classroom. He said sizes around 15 kids per classroom is the requirement for a special education classroom. Tangora agreed that the goal was to keep each elementary classroom between 17 and 23 students, but conditions such as the make-up of that classroom, play a major role in determining how many kids should be in an individual classroom.

Dr. Tangora also discussed the previously proposed new school bus garage which was tabled following public complaints. He said he expected a committee to be formed in 2026 to revisit the issue. He added that a new school bus garage is definitely needed.

Tangora also addressed the recent racist artwork featuring Lebron James that was displayed at a school art show, but was unable to talk specifics about the student or teacher involved. Tangora said he attended a diversity meeting at the school on Tuesday night. He said the problem is complex but absolutely needs to be addressed.

Watch the complete interview with Dr. Tangora below via YouTube.