NP schools making cuts to keep up with state changes
NEW PHILADELPHIA – School officials have made several budget cuts and are proposing more as they deal with shortfalls brought about by recent legislative actions at the state level.
District Treasurer Julie Erwin says their property tax and state funding revenue will decline by $4.3 million over the next five years.
In response, Superintendent Amy Wentworth says the district is not replacing five retiring teachers and hiring new teachers at the lowest salary level. She says they have also significantly cut supply and curriculum budgets.
Wentworth says additional cuts would impact students and the services the district offers.
Those could involve eliminating some AP courses and a unit of science at the high school and changing the middle school day from block scheduling to a traditional 9-period day. She says those moves would lead to teacher cuts.
“Staffing is our biggest cost,” she said. “That is the place where you would get the biggest bang for your buck.”
Erwin also suggested a significant change to health insurance coverage, but that would require opening negotiations with the teacher and employee unions. Board members said that would be a tough sell for the unions.
Wentworth also proposed increasing student pay-to-participate fees and the cost of athletic season passes and senior citizen passes.
School Board President Jennifer Schrock said these moves should not come as a surprise.
“You get what you vote for,” she said. “You can’t say, ‘no, no, no, no,’ to the school; you can’t continue to vote representatives and people in who are cutting money from the schools and think you are not going to be impacted by it… The community can’t have it both ways. They can’t say, ‘we’re not going to support, we’re not going to fund, we’re not going to do it,’ and then be shocked and surprised and in a riot when we start cutting things. What do they think is going to happen?”
Wentworth and Erwin are leaving the district this summer, so these budget decisions will be up to the School Board and a new administrative team.