Steel+Valley+votes+to+furlough+41+school+workers

= = = By Anne Cloonan = =// Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette // = =// 5/25/11 //=

= =  Teachers to be furloughed stood as one at the Steel Valley School Board meeting Tuesday night to hear the vote that would eliminate their jobs. Teacher colleagues stood beside them to show support.  School Director Kim Kubansek's sole "no" vote on the furloughs got a round of applause.  The measure to furlough 40.5 teaching, teachers' aides and other positions passed by 8 to 1.  The furloughs were approved last month, but individuals were not voted on until Tuesday.  Administrators and board members decided to eliminate the positions last month as a way of compensating for a reduction of $2.4 million in state education funds for the district in Gov. Tom Corbett's budget during the 2011-2012 school year.  However, at roughly the same time Tuesday night that directors voted on the furloughs, the state House of Representatives was voting to pass an amended state budget that restored more than half a billion dollars to basic and higher education, and which increased state funding for grades K-12 by a net $210 million dollars. The information about the budget passage was not available to Steel Valley school directors Tuesday night, and the Senate still has to vote on the package.  After the meeting Tuesday, Superintendent William Kinavey said he wants to see how much money the district will receive in the final state budget.  Business manager Mark Cherpak said he heard at an earlier meeting of officials of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit that the legislature planned to restore $374,000 to $375,000 of Steel Valley's basic education subsidy, and about $125,000 of the district's accountability block grant.  However, no official notification has been made. = Read more: __[] __ = = = = = = = = = =News= =home=