Personnel committee: 60 resignations in 2024-25; district highlights teacher pathways and ESPA contract terms

Tracy Garner, personnel committee chair for the William Penn School District, reported at the Sept. 25 personnel committee meeting that the district recorded 60 employee resignations during the 2024-25 school year and has hired 36 employees for the 2025-26 school year.

Garner said the 60 resignations include both instructional and noninstructional staff and cited reasons given by departing employees including pay, lack of administrative support, communication issues and, for some teachers, caseload and class-size concerns. For 2025-26 hires, Garner said 36 people were hired so far: eight noninstructional staff (for example, secretaries and instructional assistants) and 28 instructional staff holding certificates.

Beginning July 1, 2025, the district partnered with Kelly Services to supply temporary help for substitutes in teaching, secretarial and paraprofessional positions. Garner said Kelly Services has identified 45 candidates for temporary positions and that 28 of those candidates are in various stages of onboarding; Kelly Services is covering the cost of emergency permits for substitute teachers.

Garner introduced two pathways intended to increase special-education teacher certification under priority 2 of the district strategic plan. A paraeducator-to-certification program, offered in partnership with DCIU, Luzerne Intermediate Unit and Misericordia University, is 100% virtual and offers accelerated coursework and reduced cost, with possible tuition reimbursement for eligible employees. An accelerated special-education certification track targets employees who already hold a bachelor’s degree and provides coursework and practice testing leading to an Instructional I certificate in special education (pre-K through grade 12); this track may also qualify for tuition reimbursement.

On collective bargaining, Garner said the WPA agreement (the teachers’ contract) expired Aug. 31 and the district is operating in status quo while negotiations continue. She said the district and union are “working diligently to get that done” and that negotiations aim for a settlement "by the September." On the ESPA support-staff contract, Garner reported that members ratified a five-year agreement effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2030. Amendments announced for ESPA included at least 15 paid holidays, no change in health-care contribution, salary increases for existing employees and extra pay for ESPA members performing PCA duties at the direction of an administrator.

Garner also presented current vacancy counts by school: Ninth Grade Academy reported zero vacancies; Alden, Cowen, East Lansdowne, Evans and Park Lane each reported one vacancy; and Ardmore, Bell, Walnut, Penwood Middle and Penwood High School reported two or more vacancies. A board member asked for a count of students affected by special-education vacancies; Garner acknowledged the request for that specific figure and said staff would follow up.

The meeting included brief public-comment concerns about how vacancies and supplementals affect electives and services for virtual students. The committee closed by noting a district “good news” item: Chuck Taylor, a teacher at Penwood High School, won an Apple Watch in a preventative care campaign sponsored by the Delaware County Health Care Trust after scheduling a routine checkup.

No formal board votes on the WPA contract or staffing actions occurred at the personnel committee meeting. The committee recorded follow-up tasks: provide the contract citation regarding supplementals, supply supplemental-budget figures, provide the number of students affected by special-education vacancies, and report items to the full board at the scheduled Sept. 29 meeting.