Steel+Valley+Teachers+Received+Notices+of+Possible+Furloughs

== =By Stacy Lee= =//Published in the McKeesport Daily News//= =//4/12/11//=

= = = = =While every Steel Valley School District teacher received a notice of possible furloughs, district superintendent Dr. William Kinavey said the move is only a precautionary measure.= = = =Kinavey said he is meeting with district faculty to explain the letters.= = = =“There’s just a possibility of furloughs,” he said. “This is just to protect the district because you don’t know. We’ll see what happens.”= = = =Kinavey said the notices were sent out Friday because the teachers contract requires notification of possible furloughs by April 30.= = = =“We believe 153 teachers received potential furlough letters,” Pennsylvania State Education Association spokesman Butch Santicola said. “That’s the entire unit. We don’t know what the final outcome will be.”= = = =Like other school districts across the state, Steel Valley will be significantly hurt if Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget is passed. The district would have $2.4 million in cuts.= = = =“The governor’s proposed budget has caused a lot of problems for school districts,” Santicola said. “If there are no alterations, some districts will lose a lot of money.”= = = =He said if school districts follow the proper procedures with the furloughs, there isn’t much that can be done.= = = =Even without the proposed state cuts, Steel Valley has a deficit of approximately $760,000.= = = =Last month, the school board eliminated six custodians and six paraprofessionals to help curb spending.= = = =Kinavey said if the district begins furloughing teachers, it will be based on more than seniority.= = = =“We have a checkerboard realignment based on seniority and certification,” he said.= = = =Kinavey said there have been no teacher furloughs yet and he wants to make sure faculty understands that.= = = =“Some young teachers who received the letters might feel they have been furloughed,” he said. “Nothing has been decided so far. These are ‘just in case’ letters.”= = = =Santicola said Steel Valley teachers are working hard to get the word out about how deeply state budget education cuts will affect school and students.= = = = Steel Valley teachers, parents and other district employees organized a Tell Everyone All Cuts Hurt group. TEACH had a rally Wednesday at the corner of Main Street and E. Twenty-Second Avenue in Munhall protesting the possible decrease in educational funding. Yard signs were handed out with the same message. = = = =“We have a great group of people there in the Steel Valley,” Santicola said.= = = = Read more: [|Steel Valley teachers received notices of possible furloughs - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review] [] = = =

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