Deer Lakes School District crafts tentative budget, but contract issues unresolved
By Brian C. Rittmeyer, The Valley News-Dispatch, Tarentum, Pa. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
But an unknown in the district's finances is its labor agreement with the
With no resolution in sight, the district is poised to end the 2013-14 school year without a contract.
Teachers have been working under the terms of their last contract, which expired at the end of last June.
Business Manager
Spending is projected to increase by about 3.4 percent, from
The biggest spending increase is in what the district pays on its debt, after the savings from recent refinancing runs out, Thimons said.
Under state inflation-related limits, the district could raise taxes by up to 2.7 percent, or 0.59-mill, Thimons said. But after increasing taxes for the current school year by 1.7 percent, Thimons said district officials decided taxpayers earned a reprieve from another hike.
"We do not have a tax increase in the budget as it now stands," he said.
The proposed spending plan would not dig deep into the district's surplus, totaling about
Staff, program changes
Not replacing retiring teachers, eliminating courses, reassigning teachers and recalling furloughed teachers are among staff and program changes being considered.
"Everything is due to finances," Superintendent
Nine teachers are retiring, and the district will be replacing the equivalent of 41/2 of them, Ciramella said.
The retiring employees consist of Spanish/French, French, social studies and cooperative education teachers at the high school; a middle school special education teacher; and three fifth-grade teachers and a Title I reading teacher at the elementary level.
The school board is expected to vote on Tuesday on eliminating six courses -- Title I "Like Math" at East Union Intermediate Center, PSSA math and reading at
Students who need help in math or reading will still get it, Ciramella said.
"We'll still have support in place," she said.
The school board will vote on abolishing middle school guidance. It and elementary guidance would be replaced with a grade 3-8 guidance counselor; one counselor would serve the elementary and middle schools, Ciramella said.
No new teachers would be hired; any vacancies to be filled would be done by realigning existing staff and bringing back furloughed teachers, Ciramella said.
Ciramella could not immediately say how much the staffing changes and course eliminations are expected to save the district.
Contract talks continue
About 137 employees are represented by the
The last contract had been an "early bird," agreed to in
Taking effect
The district is asking teachers to pay more toward health care, Thimons said.
But teacher pay, more than health benefits or other contract language, is the biggest issue, according to Thimons.
If the existing pay scale continues to be used, Thimons said it would result in an average 4 percent pay increase per year.
"We understand their position in not wanting to retract from that salary schedule," Thimons said. "To be financially sustainable, we can't support it."
A representative of the
The district and union continue to meet with the help of a mediator.
"I think we understand each other's positions. They've been working hard trying to resolve it. We aren't making tremendous progress," Thimons said. "This will get resolved. Exactly when and how, I'm not sure."
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