Nazareth School District Budget Deficit Trimmed to $153,000

The specter of teacher furloughs hangs in the air, as Nazareth Area School District's 2012-2013 budget continues to take shape.

“I don't think this is a year for employment guarantees,” is how board President summed up the situation, at Monday's meeting of the Nazareth Area School Board.

Bradley's remarks came after Superintendent Victor Lesky presented the administration's latest budget proposal, which trims the to about $153,000.

The savings of about $770,000 compared to the previous budget draft -- which was tweaked after-the-fact due to changes in state-mandated transportation costs, Lesky said -- come from a variety of areas. Some examples:

• Several teachers who retired as of the end of this year will not be replaced.

• One administration position will be eliminated. Central administration will operate with one assistant superintendent, rather than two, next year. Lesky will retire in July and be replaced by current Assistant Superintendent Dennis Riker. Essentially, Riker will replace Lesky but no one will replace Riker.

• One teaching position will be moved from the high school to the middle school.

• The position of a social worker will be eliminated, though Lesky stressed that change had been planned even before budget talks began.

• Changes in the district's special education program will save money.

• There will be a “possible restructuring” of teacher-leader teams.

• The administration and school board will explore ways to save money in the district's sports and extra-curricular programs. That could mean fewer coaching positions, Lesky said.

• Four teaching positions at the high school will be eliminated -- one each in English, history, math and science. The high school's enrollment has dropped from 1,680 to 1,495 in the past few years, according to Lesky.

The question remains whether eliminating those positions will require furloughs, or mandatory time off work without pay, or layoffs. It might be possible to avoid layoffs, depending on whether current high school teachers can be moved to other schools in the district -- which depends on whether those teachers are certified at the necessary grade level and for the necessary subjects, Lesky said.

Maybe. Maybe not.

“I don't know if all positions can be eliminated through attrition,” he said.

Board members did not directly address the issue of possible concessions from the Nazareth Area Education Association (NAEA) on Monday, as they have in recent meetings. The board in January directed Lesky to send a letter to the NAEA, requesting a wage freeze or other financial compromise. Lesky said after Monday's meeting that the administration and NAEA leaders have met, but the teacher's union has not offered any concessions.

However, Bradley's “no guarantees” remark set the tone for board comments.

Board member Darrell Crook looked to the future and saw a bleak budget outlook, if current trends continue.

He noted that districts not far from Nazareth, especially to its north, face financial crises far worse than Nazareth's. (Pocono Mountain School District, in Monroe County, plans to lay off almost 300 employees and close several school buildings next year.) Nazareth's day could come soon, Crook worried.

“We may be looking at drastic furloughs down the road,” he said. “It may take drastic action ... in order to keep the boat afloat.”

Bradley vowed to keep searching for ways to trim the budget still further -- preferably to the point of eliminating the currently proposed 2 percent property tax hike. That would require finding close to an additional $1 million in savings.