The Bensalem Township school board is eliminating more than 30 positions, including teachers, counselors, and librarians, in an effort to address a $12 million budget gap, writes Maddie Hanna for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Last week, the board voted unanimously to eliminate the positions for the upcoming school year, citing a dire financial outlook that forced the decision. Despite these reductions, the board will still need to find another $2.7 million in savings to fully balance the budget.
“None of us want to be taking this vote tonight,” said Stephanie Gonzalez Ferrandez, the board’s vice president. “This is a mess we have been left to clean up.”
She added that the district is feeling the impact of rising costs, driven largely by charter school tuition and special education. Previous school boards relied on district savings and federal pandemic relief funds to cover shortfalls, rather than reserving them for one-time uses.
After a Commonwealth Court ruling on inadequate funding in low-wealth districts, Bensalem received $1.8 million in additional state aid last year, though it is expected to take seven more years to fully address underfunding.
Read more about the cuts being made by the Bensalem Township school board to address the budget gap in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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