Lancaster School Board delays furlough decision to next week

The School District of Lancaster Board of Directors was scheduled to vote Tuesday night on a resolution to potentially furlough more than 100 school employees including teachers, staff, and administrators. But at the last minute, the board voted to table the decision until a public meeting sometime next week. 

Board members wanted additional time to consider public comments and amendments to the resolution.

School board member Robin Goodson talked about her six children attending schools in the district before weighing in on postponing the vote. 

“Furloughing is the last resort, not the first response,” Goodson said.

Superintendent Dr. Keith Miles said, “We want to exhaust every other avenue before furloughing staff.”

The furloughs would help make up for a $9.6 million budget deficit. The majority of that shortfall stems from an accounting error which didn’t account for salaries and benefits for more than 80 employees in the 2024-25 budget year. 

A large crowd of parents, teachers, and taxpayers filed into the boardroom at Lincoln Middle School for the meeting. So many people came, they spilled into the cafeteria. A large number wore black T-shirts representing the Lancaster Education Association, the teachers union.

Association President Christina Rojas led off the public comment session off. 

“I’m asking the district to honor what they’ve been saying to keep these cuts as far away from students as possible,” she said, later adding, “It’s the kids who will lose when we lose our jobs.”

Michael Bowers, a city resident and educator in Lancaster County, told board members,
“I’m here to support the kids in my neighborhood.” He added, “I understand the budget shortfall, but it’s wrong in my mind that students are being hurt due to clerical errors. That’s mind-boggling to me.”

Many comments drew applause from the packed room.

Susan Cloud, a substitute teacher in the district, focused on the financial mismanagement which led to the deficit. 

“How this happened is appalling,” she said. “Don’t force the kids and teachers to pay for it.”

Alyssa Loeffler, a Lincoln Middle School counselor, commented online, “Middle School is a real challenging time in a student’s life. School counselors aren’t just there for the occasional check-in. They are certified professionals who provide emotional support and crisis intervention.”

Steven Heffner, a math teacher for 23 years at J.P. McCaskey High School, addressed the district’s overall budget and funding problems.

“I have never taught a year where our schools were adequately funded,” he said. “We can’t continue to ask students and teachers to absorb the consequences of a system that isn’t equitable.”

District enrollment has dropped by twelve percent over the past eight years while staff and expenses have increased. In addition to the accounting error, the district apparently overspent on transportation, cyber charter tuition, and building renovations.

“We need to cut expenses and we need to cut them now,” board member David Parry said. “If we are going to lay off people who’ve done nothing wrong over unsound financial management, we’ve got to make significant changes, so it doesn’t happen again.”

School Board President Jennifer Eaton said, “My goal is to see a longterm financial plan.”

At the end of the two-hour meeting, a majority of board members voted to table the intent-to-furlough resolution until a hearing that will be scheduled for next week. The board has to make a decision within 60 days of finalizing a budget, which happens at the end of June.

Parry indicated he’ll reluctantly vote in favor. 

“I don’t like the resolution, but I’m going to vote for it,” he said.

Barbara Barr is a former reporter for WGAL in Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna Valley where she led political coverage that earned a Walter Cronkite Award.