Teacher Cuts Coming in Preliminary School Budget Vote

This week, the Easton Area School Board is scheduled to vote on the school district's 2013-2014 budget.

It's just not clear yet which of three tax plans the board will choose, although all of them involve some district employees losing their jobs:

• The board could raise taxes 2.1 percent and cut 29 positions.
• The board chould choose a plan that raises taxes 1.7 percent and cut 34 employees.
• And it could vote not to raise taxes at all, which means 53 positions would be cut.

“None of the scenarios are going to improve the quality of education in the district," board member Robert Moskaitis said.

His colleague, William Rider, said that if the district cuts jobs, he'd rather them not cut teachers.

“If you go to zero and cut additional teachers, yes, you are cutting education," he said. "Teachers teach kids. Kids learn. That’s our business."

The district cut hundreds of jobs in 2012 and 2010.

Complicating matters is the money the board wants to take from district reserves to help balance the $134 million budget. Some board members want to stick to the original plan to use $500,000 in reserve cash, while others have suggesting going as high as $1 million.

Board member Janet Matthews said the board shouldn't go beyond $500,000, if at all.

“That’s something that’s done every year here, ‘Go to the fund balance, go to the fund balance.’ It’s not operating within our means to take from the fund balance," she said.

The board is scheduled to vote on the budget at its May 14 meeting. Last month, board members said they would not cut music programs as a way of balancing the budget.