Easton School Board Cuts 17 Middle School Teachers, Assistant Principal
After lengthy executive session, Easton Area School Board eliminates 18 full-time positions and dozens of other employees.
The Easton Area School Board continued shedding school employees, eliminating the jobs of 17 Easton Area Middle School 5/6 teachers and its assistant principal following a lengthy executive session Tuesday night.
After an executive session that lasted two hours and 30 minutes, the board took swift action that took just a few minutes in slashing positions.
The cuts came on top of the 47 teachers the board voted on recently who would not be returning for the 2012/2013 school year.
"We said we would continue getting ready for the budget," Board President Robert Fehnel said. "We had a $6 million shortfall looking us in the face."
Fehnel addressed the 20 people in the audience who waited through the executive session for a meeting that was supposed to start at 8 p.m.
"Obviously, we're here to discuss personnel," he said. "We had a lot to discuss."
While the meeting was just expected to discuss the furloughs of 41 para-professional personnel, the board instead first voted to cut the 18 positions at the middle school.
They are:
- Two science teachers.
- Two Social Studies teachers.
- Four math teachers.
- Four reading/English teachers.
- One art teacher.
- One computer education teacher.
- Two health/physical education teachers.
- One writing teacher.
- One assistant principal.
The board did not identify the names of the people losing their jobs. The layoffs went into effect Tuesday night.
The cuts came without comment from board members and the public also did not speak.
The furloughs included 12 at Easton Area Middle School, five at Easton Area High School, five from transportation, five from Paxinosa, four from Cheston and one each from Shawnee, March, Tracy and Palmer schools.
The paraprofessionals held posts in the lunchroom, security, nurses, classroom, clerical and library.
The board also voted to eliminate the positions of printing services manager and benefits coordinator for the district.
In the first wave of cuts, the teachers either had their contracts suspended or simply not renewed, part of a larger move to cut more than 100 jobs to balance this year's budget.
WILFREDO G. SALCEDO, Sr.
9:24 am on Wednesday, July 11, 2012
More federal stimuli needed...We saw what happened in Scranton (and Europe)...This can happen nationally if the feds don't react soon...This is no time for austerity...Spend our way out of the rut...Borrow money while it's still cheap...And get those gazillionaires give their fair share...Bail out sessions are in order...Rehire those laid off folks and get them spending again...This is the only way we can survive this debacle...A new book IT'S THE MIDDLE CLASS, STUPID is just out...It said it all.
Fuzzy F Face
8:35 pm on Tuesday, July 24, 2012
how about stop spending EASD is well over paid and non of them want to take a freeze or a cut but everyone else is. Somewhere these hired folks all have a sense of entitlement. I have heard it said by several employed by the district. What about responsibility? WHY doesnt EASD make their AYP scores while other districts locally do? Has to be a reason? Those other districts that DO make their scores also have lower salaries,............perhaps they know something about the hiring process and pay scales that EASD should learn! OH and their taxes are LOWER,............