Survey+-+State+lost+more+than+14,000+school+jobs

= More than half of cuts were from layoffs while others were vacancies left open in 2011-12 school year. = = = = By [|Steve Esack] = =// Published by The Allentown Morning Call //= = //9/15/11// =

=Pennsylvania shed at least 14,178 public school jobs over the summer due to state budget cuts and the loss of federal stimulus dollars, according to a new survey.= =But some of those who lost jobs may be back at work in other positions that opened.= = The report, conducted by two statewide education groups, found 3,556 teachers, 739 administrators and 4,000 other employees have lost their jobs and 5,883 positions have been left vacant in nearly 60 percent of the state's 500 school districts. = = As a result of lost jobs and budget constraints, students are sitting in larger classes and getting access to fewer electives and less up-to-date material in the school districts that responded to the August survey by the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials.= ="We have not seen personnel and program reductions of this magnitude in education for decades," said Jay Himes, executive director of the school business officials group.= =The report, issued Wednesday, comes two months after data from the state Department of Labor and Industry showed that the loss of 800 public school jobs in the Lehigh Valley area helped offset private sector gains.= ="Since the survey was conducted in mid- to late August, we believe the furlough numbers reflect the actual number of teachers furloughed," said Jim Buckheit, executive director of the state Association of School Administrators. "Any recalls would be relatively few."= =State Education Secretary Ron Tomalis could not be reached Thursday for comment. However, in past interviews with The Morning Call, he said the education job cuts were not Gov. [|Tom Corbett]'s fault.= =Tomalis said Corbett inherited a $4 billion budget deficit, driven partly by unsustainable increases in public education spending by former Gov. [|Ed Rendell], who used federal stimulus money to augment his budgets.= =But Buckheit said Corbett also used stimulus money instead of state money. When Corbett instituted a spending freeze in 2010-11, Burkheit said, he covered the $234 million education freeze with federal Education Jobs Fund money that states were expecting to use to prevent teacher layoffs in 2011-12.= = Two hundred ninety-four school districts responded to the survey. The survey found an average of 28.5 positions were cut in the districts. The loss would have been greater had staff in some districts not agreed to pay freezes, which Corbett requested in his March 8 budget address.= = In addition to staffing cuts, 44 percent of responding districts eliminated electives, 35 percent ended tutoring, 25 percent cut summer school programs, 41 percent delayed buying textbooks; and 58 percent didn't make technology upgrades. = =School officials began making plans to reduce staff in the 2011-12 school year after Corbett announced his intention in March 2010 to slash basic education funding to pre-stimulus days of the 2008-09 school year.= =Bethlehem Area School District cut 145 jobs, including 88 teaching positions, resulting in the end of middle school teacher teams that integrated curriculum across disciplines while teachers addressed academic, social and family needs of students. Officials also reduced preschool and slashed dozens of high school electives after a 20-student minimum enrollment was established.= =Bethlehem Superintendent Joseph Roy said those positions remain off the books. But he said the district has rehired some of the laid-off staff to fill vacancies created by unexpected resignations, retirements or maternity leaves.= =While Bethlehem had the most job cuts, Allentown School District laid off the most classroom teachers, 112, in the Valley. The cuts were part of former Superintendent Gerald Zahorchak's controversial program changes that led to more college courses and fewer electives in the high schools and the loss of dozens of music, library and gym teachers at all grade levels.= =Last month, the school board called back 10 tenured teachers and nearly two dozen untenured teachers, reducing the number of layoffs to 78 by the Sept. 6 start of the school year.= =More teachers have since come back to work while others have resigned for other positions elsewhere, said Debbie Tretter, Allentown teachers union president.= ="They've been coming and going," she said.=

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