Seneca Valley Officials Save JROTC Program, Will Ask Teachers for Pay Freeze

Two things were clear after a marathon Seneca Valley School Board workshop meeting Monday that addressed the the district faces for the 2011-12 school year -- and the cutbacks needed to balance its budget.

One was the removal of the district’s long-running  program from the chopping block for next year -- a move that earned a round of cheers from JROTC students and their parents at the meeting. The other was the board’s agreement to ask the Seneca Valley Education Association to accept a voluntary one-year pay freeze.

Less clear was the teachers union's response to the request for a salary freeze -- which board President Robert Hill Jr. called a Band-Aid fix – and which cost-saving measures officials would put into effect for next year.

“I know people are not going to be happy,” board member Eric Gordon predicted. “We’re going to do the best we can to get our fiscal house in order.”

Where it started

In March, While district business manager Lynn Burtner said the governor actually increased overall state education funding, schools across Pennsylvania will lose federal economic stimulus money they’ve come to rely on, as well as Accountability Block Grant money.

She estimated Seneca Valley would be stripped of $2.19 million in one year.

The district has since offered an early-retirement incentive package to teachers and staff. The district’s 49-person administration staff also agreed to a one-year pay freeze.

Other potential cost-savings measures discussed by the district include drilling for Marcellus Shale gas on 142 acres owned by the district on Ehrman Road, which spans Cranberry and Jackson townships, furloughing teachers, and eliminating district programs.

The board will make its decisions at the April 11 regular meeting by voting on a package of cost-saving measures recommended by the district’s administrative team.

Before that happens, Hill suggested his fellow board members share any additional money-saving ideas.

“Now is the time to bring it up,” he said.

Increasing fees

While the board already has discussed increasing the participation fee for athletics from $5 to $35, board member Jeanette Lahm suggested raising it to $50 or $75. Board member Eric DiTullio took it a step further with his suggestion to raise the fee to $100, which he estimated would bring in roughly $150,000 in revenue.

Previously, the board had discussed increasing  the price of a parking permit at the high school from $35 to $60. On Monday, DiTullio suggested raising that amount to $200, which he said works out to a little more than a dollar per day.

“If you park in Pittsburgh, people would kill for that fee,” he said.

DiTullio also suggested creating a monthly pass so that students would not have to come up with a lump sum for the yearly permit.

Horse-trading with the union

After a motion by Gordon, the board unanimously agreed to ask the Seneca Valley Education Association for a one-year pay freeze. While he agreed to approach the union, Hill said he was adamant that he would not engage in what he called “horse-trading” with teachers if they do not agree to the freeze.

Hill explained that he did not want to bargain with teachers by asking them to accept a one-year pay freeze in exchange for not eliminating programs. Doing so, he said, would not change the district’s budget woes.

As warned by Superintendent Dr. Donald Tylinski during Monday's meeting, Hill said the district would have to make difficult cuts throughout the next four years while Corbett is in office.

“It’s a fool’s errand,” Hill said of such bargaining. “It doesn’t solve what’s wrong.”

Board Vice President Jason Wehrle added that the salary freeze would be needed in addition to the cost-saving measures already proposed by the district.

“I’m all for approaching them,” he said. “I do want to make it clear that this is not a situation where if they agree to it, we won’t have to cut anything. No, this is in addition to everything else.”

Gordon disagreed, saying he thought teachers would be willing to bargain.

“I would say I’d be willing to horse-trade for the sole purpose of having programs next year, even if they are on the cutting block,” he said. 

Hill said he would report the union’s position to the board at its April 11 meeting.

At that meeting, the board also will vote on hiring a new JROTC instructor to join Command Sgt. Maj. David Paul Massullo.

Saving the JROTC

Along with parts of the business education and family and consumer sciences programs, the JROTC was one of the programs originally up for elimination next year.

After a strong show of support from students and parents, Hill said the district was able to save the military-based program because the district’s administration staff agreed to a pay freeze in March. This freed up roughly $116,000, he said, which will go toward the new instructor’s salary.

He emphasized this amount was enough to save the program only for one year.

On Monday, officials approved making an offer to the second instructor. JROTC parent Rick Weber, who thanked the board for its decision, has said the Army requires a second instructor for the program. If the district did not hire a second instructor, he said, the Army would disband the program, which has been part of the district for 40 years.

Massullo has been the program’s only instructor for the last two years.

Business department speaks up

Along with business teacher Kathy Mahoney, several students also spoke in support of the business program.

Some programs, such as marketing, marketing for sports and entertainment, marketing for fashion retail, and Law 1 and Law 2, are targeted for elimination. Other business programs, including economics, will be absorbed into the math program, according to Linda Andreassi, the district's director of communications.

Other programs up for elimination are the seventh-grade football team, and the cross-country team and the track and field programs for seventh- and eighth-graders.