Proposed School Budget Eliminates Seven Teaching Positions

The current budget proposal for the Upper St. Clair School District eliminates seven teaching positions.

School administrators and directors reviewed the budget during a school board meeting Monday night.

If the directors vote in favor of the current plan, the following positions would be eliminated of suspended:

- Three elementary school teachers
- One reading specialist at Boyce Middle
- One secondary math teacher
- One high school position that is to be determined
- One high school guidance counselor for one year 

Superintendent Patrick O'Toole said the cuts can be made "without a significant increase in class size." In kindergarten and first grade, there will be no more than 20 students in each classroom. In second, third and fourth grades, there will be no more than 25 students in each classroom.

In addition, three teaching aide positions would be eliminated and one administration job. Dr. O'Toole said they will use seniority to decide which administration job is eliminated.

"We take maintaining our standard very seriously, which is why this is so difficult," Dr. O'Toole said. "This is a budget that none of us like.

"Next year we will have to make the most significant cuts and will have to furlough current employees."

By state law, the school district can only furlough employees if there is a decrease in enrollment or if a program is eliminated. The administration is taking a look at possibility of restructuring programs such as foreign languages, libraries and physical education. 

"We can't just wait for retirements. We have to start cutting some teaching positions," Dr. O'Toole said.

School board president Harry Kunselman announced at Monday night's meeting that the school board approached the Upper St. Clair Education Association — the union that represents the 300 teachers in the district — and asked that the teachers at the top of the payroll take a wage freeze. The teachers voted on the proposal in May and it was "narrowly rejected." However, union representatives said they remain committed to working with the board.

In contrast, the district's bus drivers approached the board and offered to take a pay freeze in exchange for extending their contract for a year. The move will save the district more than $29,000. 

The budget proposal would also require parents to pay for their students to play sports in middle and high schools.

Upper St. Clair residents will see a tax increase of .33 mills. The tax increase was supposed to be .4 mills, but state law prohibits the increase to just .33 mills this year. For a homeowner of a $200,000 house, the increase will be equivalent to about $66.