Citing a strapped budget for the next school year, school officials said they were forced to revamp the social studies program at Wareham Middle School, lay off two teachers, and reassign seven others to positions elsewhere in the district.

"We wouldn't be doing this if we didn't have a budget issue," said Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch.

Rabinovitch said he knew a shortfall would exist after Town Meeting approved the $25 million budget in May. Unexpected changes, including an employee choosing to continue working instead of retiring, amounted to a roughly $500,000 shortfall, he said.

Adding to the issue is the fact that the administration and teachers have not yet come to an agreement on a contract for the upcoming year. Rabinovitch said he was hoping to save money in negotiations. The contract ends on June 30 but will remain in effect until a new one is ratified by teachers.

The middle school was chosen as an area for cuts because even with fewer teachers, class sizes would total approximately 27 students. Though not ideal, 27 students is considered acceptable for middle school, said Jan Rotella, director of curriculum and instruction for the district.

Rotella noted that the middle school has not been hit by layoffs in five years.

Teachers are "teamed" in the middle school, meaning a group of teachers instructing different subjects will teach the same group of students. With the layoffs causing a reduction in the teacher teams from four teachers to three teachers, the district has adopted a new state-approved method of instruction which will allow teachers to integrate instruction of history and social studies, science, and technology subjects.

Instead of attending social studies classes, students will attend "humanities," where they will "learn the concepts and content [of social studies] through literacy skills," Rotella said.

Rotella said some of the reassigned teachers who were previously teaching social studies will "likely" be teaching the humanities subject. The state requires teachers to get a "humanities" certification, which Rotella said many teachers have the credits to easily obtain.

"By doing a little bit of work, we can get people certified in humanities," she said.

The two teachers who were laid off, both social studies teachers, had "non-professional teaching status," Rabinovitch said. Professional status is obtained after three years of teaching.

Rotella stressed that students will receive the same number of hours of social studies instruction.

"We will not lose instruction in the history content area ... it's just a different delivery system," she said, noting that teachers will be provided with resources to help with the change.

Rabinovitch and Rotella - both former middle school principals - said they weren't happy about the change in instruction or the shuffling of teachers, but noted each was necessary due to the budget constrictions.

"You lose good people" when reassigning teachers to different grade levels and subjects because they will often seek other employment in the area they're used to teaching, Rabinovitch said. "Any school building has a sense of family and this act has made people feel uncomfortable."

In the current economic climate with municipalities dealing with dwindling aid, Rabinovitch said the town must determine how much it needs to "run the town and the schools adequately."

Rotella likened the budget situation to a juggling act. "How many plates can we keep spinning in the air," she asked. "It puts us literally weighing one program against another, one grade level against another."