In a spring when school districts across the region are digging deeper for spending cuts, the Chester Upland School District is considering a downright daunting move - shedding 40 percent of its teachers next school year.
Facing a budget reduction of almost 20 percent, the Delaware County district might also cut support staff 50 percent. The average class size would go from 21 to 35.
On May 25, the school board passed a budget plan that outlined, but did not fill in, the cuts.
The final spending plan will be passed before June 30; no date has been set for the vote. But parents and other district residents are coming to grips with the bleak outlook spurred by expected sharp cuts in state aid.
At a community forum attended by about 35 Wednesday night, acting Superintendent Joyce Wells told residents and some district teachers that "we feel it is our sacred responsibility to take care of our children."
Asked whether the proposed cuts would drive parents into charter schools, she said that if the cuts went through, "we would probably have to be very creative in how we educate our children. But our hope is that our parents will have enough faith that we can provide them with a quality education that they will stay with us."
Wells told the audience that "cuts will be pervasive - in every area" - and that the district was looking for "community partnerships to preserve as many programs as we can." She said after the meeting that she was not prepared to outline the district's plan in more detail.
The 4,245-student Chester Upland district has few of the resources its wealthier neighbors have. With high poverty, the district has depended on state aid for just more than two-thirds of its budget the last few years, by far the highest percentage in the Philadelphia area and one of the highest in the state.
If proposed state funding cuts go through, Chester Upland officials would have few options other than staff reductions to balance the budget.
The size of the discussed staffing changes stands in stark contrast to what other districts in the region plan. The Philadelphia School District is considering cutting 10.5 percent of the teaching staff. Another cash-strapped suburban district, Bristol Township, is weighing a 5 percent cut in teaching staff.
Chester Upland's proposals have parents wondering about the district's future.
