Leaders of the Hall County school system are reviewing ways to use teachers more efficiently for the upcoming school year in an effort to keep instructional costs down.

Eloise Barron, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning for Hall County schools, presented a study to the Hall County school board Tuesday detailing the number of students and relative state funding it takes to support a teacher in each grade-level classroom. She said the study will ultimately help the school system consolidate some classes and shift teachers around to provide students the best instruction at the least cost to the local school system next year.

"We’re not talking about getting rid of teachers; we’re talking about better use of teachers," Barron said.

She said the system is hoping attrition will take care of any excess teacher positions.

Will Schofield, superintendent of Hall County schools, said although the school system likely will hire about 80 to 100 new teachers for the upcoming school year, the system might not hold its annual job fair this spring. He said the system has hired about 300 new teachers at the annual job fair in recent years.

Schofield also said third- and sixth-graders’ performance on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills was "up dramatically" this year. He said the standardized test compared Hall County students to students nationwide in math, science, reading and social studies.

He said students performed well in all areas of the test, and third-grade math students ranked in the 78th percentile nationally, which is up 11 percent from last year.

School board members Nath Morris, post three, and Craig Herrington, post four, were sworn in Monday as re-elected members of the Hall County school board.