Octorara Area School District eyes 7 teacher furloughs - Lancasteronline 04/12/2011

Octorara Area School District eyes 7 teacher furloughs Educational and administrative changes also proposed

Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era

Updated Apr 12, 2011 22:38

Atglen
By DEBBIE WYGENT, Correspondent


The Octorara Area School District is considering placing seven teaching staff on furlough and enacting major cost-saving educational and administrative changes to rein in its budget in light of recent state and federal funding cuts.

"I have a great deal of difficulty reading this," school board President Lisa Bowman said during Monday night's work session as she read the names of the staff who might be cut.

The list includes Jim Weagley, director of athletics and school and community activities, and six other full- and part-time teachers. Also, four retiring staff — including a high school Spanish teacher, elementary teacher, high school librarian and elementary reading specialist — will not be replaced if, on Monday, the school board gives Superintendent Tom Newcome a favorable response to the proposed cuts.

"We're losing some good people through furlough and the retirement process," Newcome said. "It's a very challenging agenda item but we must keep moving if we're going to make our budget work," he said. Newcome noted that reorganizing staff and administrators means the changes will have the least impact on students.

Newcome is also recommending that the district reorganize the high school and middle school, which are next to each other, into one operating center to be named Octorara Junior-Senior High School.

Because the two schools, including the recently renovated high school, have full facilities, the change will not mean that seventh-graders will be eating lunch with eleventh-graders. It does mean, however, that the administration will be reorganized and taking on more duties, and that the former team-teaching model used at the middle school will be replaced.

Newcome is asking for board approval on April 18 so he can proceed with getting Pennsylvania Department of Education approval for the maneuver. Newcome said sharing teachers between buildings without team teaching enables some furloughs because students gain teaching periods.

For middle school students, this will also mean that seventh-grade students will gain a reading period; the middle school Unified Arts program will be expanded; band and music will become scheduled classes; and individual help time will be eliminated.

Newcome also is proposing that because a high school librarian is retiring, the district create two library positions — one for grades K-6 and one for grades 7-12. Each school building would be staffed with a half-day library assistant.

Middle school Principal Elena Wilson said her communication arts teachers are prepared to work with students on library research skills.

Newcome said other furloughs, resignations and retirements may be forthcoming.

The superintendent said he also reviewed the district kindergarten program and is recommending that the district keep two sections of full-day, everyday kindergarten; create six sections of full-day, alternate-day kindergarten; and keep one section of half-day Monday-through-Friday morning kindergarten, with parents providing transportation at midday.

"This allows parents to know they have some options," Newcome said, adding that the program will be finalized after spring kindergarten registration.

Newcome said the district also is moving toward offering its own technical education classes to save money. He said the district is already offering Agriculture Mechanization, Agriculture Production Operations and Job Seeking/Changing Skills.

Newcome said the district is awaiting state approval for the following technical education classes: Business Marketing, Woodworking Technology and Cabinet Making; Commercial and Graphic Arts; Drafting Technology; and Commercial and Advertising Arts.

In response to parent concerns, he said students already enrolled in other culinary programs will be allowed to attend, but the district is moving toward offering its own culinary arts, early childhood education and accounting programs and wants to make it board policy to keep Octorara students in programs offered on campus.

An estimate of the savings the district will realize as a result of the furloughs and changes was not available Tuesday. The school board next meets at 7:30 p.m. Monday in the Octorara Middle School multipurpose room.

Read more: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/374937#ixzz1JSUoxXsr