Penn Hills school officials eye staff, program cuts
Penn Hills School District officials are considering furloughing teachers and other program cuts to help close an $8.7 million shortfall in the 2018-19 budget.
School directors approved a resolution in a 7-1 vote Monday to notify the state Department of Education about proposed program changes. Board President Erin Vecchio dissented, and member Evelyn Herbert was absent.
Superintendent Nancy Hines said no furloughs have been decided, but the district had to approve the resolution to meet a notification deadline.
Director Denise Graham-Shealy said she wants to see more data and information about positions on the list before any are eliminated.
"We're turning people's lives upside down for no reason in most cases, so we really need to look at how we do this furlough and why," she said.
Proposed program changes were posted online . They include elimination of a staff position related to hearing impaired students, plus reading and math coaches, a French World Language position and a half-time athletic director at the middle school. Special education case management and high school and middle school library positions could be altered, as well.
Furlough letters were sent out to teachers, Vecchio said, but it was unclear how many received them.
The district's preliminary budget includes a 1.9093-mill property tax increase, to 29.4663 mills. The hike means the owner of a $75,000 home would pay an additional $113 in taxes annually. The budget is expected to be approved for public inspection May 21 and formally adopted June 25.
District Treasurer Robert Marra said he expected Penn Hills to seek a $10 million tax anticipation loan for next school year.
"We utilize that money to pay expenses until we receive (real estate tax revenue) and then we pay it back," he said.
Vecchio said she hopes a conclusion to an investigation of district finances by Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr.'s office could stave off cuts.
"Families are going to move out of here and go to a different district or send their kids to charter schools, because we keep cutting instead of putting back," Vecchio said.
The investigation started shortly after the May 2016 release of state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale's performance audit of the district, in which he cited fiscal mismanagement, bad business decisions and a lack of oversight.
Vecchio said Zappala contacted district officials Monday to assure them that Penn Hills is a priority and investigators are working as fast and as diligently as they can.
Zappala spokesman Mike Manko declined to comment Monday night on the investigation.
Michael DiVittorio is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-871-2367 or mdivittorio@tribweb.com, or via Twitter @MikeJdiVittorio.