Recession may teach lesson no job is safe

From the Allentown Morning Call.

Recession may teach lesson no job is safe
Easton Area is talking staff cuts that could bring ruling on state law

By Scott Kraus | and Christopher Baxter Of The Morning Call April 26, 2009

Teaching jobs have long been thought of as safe havens from economic uncertainty, insulated from the ups and downs of the financial markets.

That has been especially true in Pennsylvania, where state law makes it difficult, if not impossible, for school districts to balance budgets with teacher layoffs.

The Easton Area School District made a move to change that last week, warning that it might join financially strapped school districts in California and Washington in handing teachers pink slips.

Facing a budget shortfall, and unhappy with the cost of the five-year teachers contract the school board approved unanimously in 2007, district officials asked the union Tuesday to reopen the deal or face job cuts.

''I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't see some number of school districts feel like they had no choice but to try to open those deals back up,'' said Kent McGuire, dean of Temple University's College of Education. ''At least they want to take credit for having tried to have that conversation.''

While even the threat of mass teacher layoffs is new to Pennsylvania, the economy has pushed schools elsewhere to take the drastic step.

The number of districts planning staff cuts quadrupled in the past year to 44 percent nationwide, a March study by the American Association of School Administrators found. Teachers made up about 40 percent of those targeted.

The Easton Area Education Association has asked the district to tap some of the $5.1 million in proceeds it expects to get from the federal economic stimulus to stave off the cuts. But the district so far has balked at the idea.

Can they or can't they?

The question is whether Pennsylvania's restrictions on layoffs make Easton's warning that it may cut 45 to 60 teaching jobs a hollow threat.

Districts can lay off teachers only if enrollment drops or if an educational program is discontinued. The state prohibits layoffs just to balance the budget.

If Easton Area goes ahead with the layoffs, it may face a battle from the Pennsylvania State Education Association, which says it will fight any effort to lay off teachers for financial reasons.

''I think they are grandstanding,'' said PSEA President James Testerman. ''It is inappropriate and illegal and most importantly sad for the kids Â… We will use every legal means to make sure they are complying with Pennsylvania law.''

The ability to let teachers go for financial reasons is something school districts would like to have, said Sean Fields, Pennsylvania School Boards Association attorney.

''There are enumerated reasons teachers can be suspended, but those reasons are not specifically economic reasons,'' Fields said.

The school boards association wants to change that. It spelled out its reasoning in an education reform proposal to state lawmakers earlier this year.

''Every other public and private sector employer except for school districts has the prerogative to make adjustments to its work force when hard economic times hit,'' the proposal reads.

But Easton believes a decision to make cuts is on firm ground. Easton Area business manager Marie Guidry said the district's solicitor has assured administrators they can make teacher cuts.

The district plans to rely on a provision in the Pennsylvania School Code that says schools can suspend teachers ''as a result of substantial decline in class or course enrollments,'' she said.

The state Department of Education must approve such suspensions to prevent districts from slashing courses and teachers simply to save money, said Leah Harris, spokeswoman for the department.

So far this school year, the state has approved 17 of 18 of school district requests, Harris said, most recently for the Pottstown School District, which cut a swimming program for Grades 1 to 6.

Most have involved just one or two positions.

A plan such as Easton's to cut dozens of teachers -- a move Guidry says would save $4 million in salaries and benefits -- would be unusual, if not unprecedented, Harris said.

Quality debate

Easton Area plans to argue that it is simply carrying out a policy that scraps classes that fail to draw more than 10 students, said Superintendent Susan McGinley. The district also plans to increase class sizes and freeze hiring for all but state-required courses.

High school electives would be most affected under the 10-student rule, said union President Kevin Deely. And cutting only those would fall far short of the district's goal, he said.

Just the prospect of class eliminations has alarmed students, who have started a Facebook group to fight the cuts.

Deely said the district cannot afford to slice the jobs without hurting education quality. Easton's student-to-teacher ratio is about 12-1, comparable with other Lehigh Valley districts and liable to rise to 13-1 with layoffs.

''I think the district is still understaffed,'' Deely said, adding that it is among those needing ''corrective action'' -- a label the state gives to districts that are academically struggling. Easton Area High School has struggled to meet benchmarks for the reading and math portions of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams.

Stimulus to the rescue?

Deely wants the district to use federal stimulus money to maintain staffing.

Before the stimulus passed, the National Education Association projected 2009 could bring as many as 600,000 school personnel layoffs, said spokesman Bill Parker.

''We're predicting this recovery bill is going to save almost all of those jobs, it will just vary from state to state,'' Parker said.

All $5.1 million of Easton Area's projected stimulus share can be used to ''avert layoffs and promote reform,'' said U.S. Department of Education spokeswoman Sandra Abrevaya.

About $814,000 of Easton's stimulus package is expected to come in the form of stabilization dollars, which are specifically targeted to avoid layoffs, said state Department of Education spokesman Mike Race.

The rest of the money comes with some restrictions, but could be used in ways that would preserve jobs, he said.

Guidry, who said previously that the district might use some stimulus money to install energy-efficient doors and windows, said the district doesn't want to tap the stimulus for salaries.

''That stimulus money will be only for the next two years,'' she said. ''After that we would be looking at a larger deficit.''

District officials say their efforts to gain concessions is driven by grim fiscal realities: declining property tax receipts, plunging investment earnings and rising pension costs.

That contrasts with 2007, when the district signed the five-year contract, and experts were still debating whether the slowing economy would turn into a recession in 2008.

The contract's annual raises of 4.9 percent were similar to those in the Parkland and Nazareth Area school districts.

Easton Area School Board ratified the deal by a vote of 6-0, with two abstentions. Board President Patricia Fisher has since said she and her colleagues did not fully understand its costs.

Former business manager Jeffrey Bader predicted at the time that the pact would save the district money through early retirements, but Guidry said the sagging economy has prompted many teachers to put off retiring.

Easton Area teachers are far from the state's highest paid. The average teacher earned $49,422 in the 2006-07 school year – the most recent state Department of Education survey -- ranking 404th out 727 districts in the state. This school year, the average Easton teacher earned $53,644, according to the district.

The district's 2008-09 maximum salary of $70,050 for teachers with a master's degree is higher than 57 percent of districts in the commonwealth, while its starting salary of $41,300 is higher than 76 percent of districts, according to the school boards association.

In Pennsylvania, those wages have come with a measure of job security that's not available in many other states, said Dan Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators.

Far from being immune to economic stress, financial problems in public education usually lag the national economy by about a year, he said.

''The story I am hearing pretty regularly everywhere I go Â… there's going to be a lot of elimination of positions,'' he said. ''And under the best of circumstances, it is going to be done through attrition.''