Most Philadelphia-area school districts avoid drastic cutbacks

Despite a tough Pennsylvania budget season that saw state aid cut for the first time in more than a decade, most area school districts averted drastic classroom cuts for the coming school year.

In many, worse options were avoided because teachers made concessions that saved money.

An Inquirer survey showed that teachers in at least 15 of the 64 area districts had agreed to some form of giveback.

In several, teachers accepted full-year wage freezes; in others, they agreed to health-care concessions or half-year freezes. Administrators and support staff often took a hit, too.

As a result, for example, Bristol Township preserved full-day kindergarten, elementary arts and music programs, its ninth-grade academy, and an alternative school, all of which had been slated for elimination.

It still had to cut its budget more than 6 percent from last year and shed about 5 percent of its teaching staff.

Several districts that had built up support networks of math and reading specialists to help struggling students eliminated most or all of those teachers, leading to worries about academic declines.

Southeast Delco cut 7 percent of its staff, including most teachers who gave extra support to at-risk students. The district had been developing a system to provide different levels of help according to students' needs. That's not a possibility, for now.

"While . . . it is within our power as a district to educate all students, there is no question that it gets more difficult when funding and personnel are taken away," Assistant Superintendent Jeffrey Ryan said in an e-mail.

Many school boards chipped away at the edges of their programs, eliminating some language, music, and physical-education offerings and increasing class sizes. They also reduced after-school transportation or midday kindergarten buses and eliminated some sports.

Close to half the area's districts cut overall spending from last school year, an action unheard of until recently. More than 40 percent dipped into their savings - called reserves - to balance budgets, a move they cannot keep making without running out of money.

In a few districts, the cutbacks went way beyond trims.

Chester Upland has laid off about 40 percent of its staff, but is planning to call some back after a last-minute infusion of state funding.

Philadelphia also took a beating, with more than 10 percent of its teaching staff getting laid off and many administrative positions gone.

Delaware County's William Penn eliminated after-school busing and an after-school program that had allowed nontraditional students who could not attend regular school to get diplomas.

"What we are being asked to do as educators and citizens is just immoral," School Board President Charlotte Hummel said.

Boards responded to pressures to keep tax increases low, both because of the shaky economy and because the state-set inflation index of 1.4 percent, which they were supposed to stay at or below, was at its lowest since it began in the 2006-07 school year.

School boards in 17 districts, by far the most in recent years, decided not to raise taxes at all.

In the West Chester district, board member Maria Pimley voted with a 5-4 majority last month to pass a budget with no tax increase. The vote came despite the pleas of many parents and students who were afraid educational offerings in the prosperous district would be compromised in future years.

"The action of reducing taxes will force us to live within our means, even though it may be difficult," Pimley responded.

In the economically struggling William Penn district, taxes also remained at current levels. "Our school board members are hearing from the community that they cannot accept any more," said Hummel, the board president, who favored a tax increase.

Still, almost half - 30 of 63 suburban districts - exceeded the inflation index, some by a lot. Bristol Borough had the highest tax hike in the area, 11.6 percent; Upper Merion was next, at 7.9 percent.

Ralph DiGuiseppe III, president of the Bristol Borough school board, said that with about 1,300 students and only about 3,500 taxable properties, the district was hammered by especially high special-education expenses, construction debt, and much less state aid.

The district is already down to bare bones, he said. "We know we can't keep raising taxes at this rate, but when people ask me to cut more, I say, 'Where?' "

The average tax increase in the Philadelphia suburbs was 2.3 percent, the lowest in many years, but still almost 1 point above the index.

Dozens of districts cut jobs. Outside Philadelphia, at least 1,525 positions were lost, including 295 in Chester Upland, some of which may be restored.