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William Penn School District outlines staffing reorganization; teachers warn PLC changes risk program stability
Summary
At a March 25 personnel meeting, district leaders described a reorganization that reduces some central positions while assuring no layoffs or pay cuts, and reinstated an executive director role; PLC teachers and the teachers’ association raised concerns about transparency, lost secretary support and potential harm to the PLC program.
William Penn School District officials on March 25 described a personnel reorganization and updated recruitment procedures while promising no employees would be laid off or lose pay — but teachers and union leaders told the board the changes risked operational strain in the district’s PLC program.
Tracy, who led the presentation, said the district is reducing academic interventionist positions from 16 to eight and eliminated three central-office secretary roles; the two remaining secretaries moved into vacant school-based positions. She said the changes come from vacancies and budget methodology and emphasized multiple times, "No one is losing their job. No one is being laid off. No one is being fired. No one is losing any income." The updated administrative recruitment procedures — including internal posting windows of five days and external postings of 14 days — take effect April 1, 2025.
Why it matters: Teachers said the PLC (the district’s virtual/alternative learning program) relies on specialized staffing and a campus-level secretary as a key operational contact for parents and daily program needs. Several PLC teachers described heavier workloads after central-office staff moved and urged the board to consider program-specific impacts rather than applying districtwide rules uniformly.
Union and teacher concerns: Andrea Fink, president of the William Penn Education Association, said teachers felt they lacked transparency about opportunities to serve on interview panels and that many were unaware positions would be posted months in advance. Fink asked the district to resend the volunteer sign-up link. Tracy replied the district first circulated the registration in March 2024 and again in November via ParentSquare and a newsletter, and that panel participants are chosen at random from registrants.
PLC staff described operational effects. Melinda Tax, a PLC teacher, asked whether PLC teachers would participate in interviews for the executive director of blended learning; Tracy said the volunteer sign-up will be resent and encouraged staff to register. Another PLC teacher, identified as Miss Beach, said removing the PLC secretary left parents without a reliable first point of contact and forced teachers to absorb tasks "while teaching live classes," affecting program operations.
Staffing details and next steps: The district said the executive director of blended learning and technology will be reinstated for the 2025–26 school year (the position was last held by Dr. Mary Agnew) and that the assistant-principal role tied to PLC responsibilities may be eliminated; affected employees will be reassigned and the district said pay would be preserved where possible. Vacancy and interview schedules announced included principal interviews for Alden Cowan Elementary and East Lansdowne Elementary on March 28 and an application window for the blended-learning director from March 4–18 with interviews to be scheduled in April.
Budget and policy context: Board members and the public asked whether moving secretaries into school budgets actually reduced district expenditures. District staff explained some positions had been vacant and their wages already budgeted at the school level, so filling school-based vacancies draws from already-allocated funds rather than increasing total salary obligations. Tracy also noted teachers returning from interventionist roles to classrooms will do so under the teachers' collective bargaining agreement and that Pennsylvania School Code rules govern demotion and certification questions.
What’s next: The board encouraged staff and teachers to continue the discussion at the education committee and to follow up offline for individual concerns about certification and salary implications. Tracy said HR will resend the interview-panel sign-up link and staff will notify affected assistant principals by April 15 if their position is eliminated. The meeting adjourned after public comment and board discussion.
