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Southeast Delco board debates teacher step increases after district reports 33 departures; union, residents warn of budget effects
Summary
Board members and community speakers clashed over recent step increases for staff after district figures showed 33 teachers left after receiving step adjustments. District leaders said the cost is now a recurring $1.3 million in the general fund; union leaders warned of budgetary ripple effects.
Madam Preston, president of the Southeast Delco School District board, presided over a contentious discussion on Sept. 25 after the district reported that 33 teachers who received recently approved step increases later left the district.
The controversy surfaced when board member Ms. Woodfolk called district HR official Stephanie Woolley to the podium to explain attrition patterns. Woolley said the district’s Act 168 forms show many departing teachers moved to neighboring districts and that roughly 33 teachers who received the step adjustments subsequently left the district. “These teachers listed here, we know their names and we know the districts where they’re going because we have to complete the Act 168 form,” Woolley said.
Board members disputed how to interpret the departures. Ms. Woodfolk criticized earlier testimony that step increases would prevent departures, saying the board had been misled. “So my point is we was misled,” she said during the discussion. Ms. McGowan, who said she advocated for giving staff steps, urged caution about drawing simple cause-and-effect conclusions: “We don’t know the reasons why they left. It could be working conditions. It could be literally any reason that someone wants to leave to another district or another position.”
Superintendent Dr. Sanchez told the board the district adjusted the general fund to account for the increases and that the recurring impact built into the 2024–25 budget is $1,300,000. “I did increase the general fund budget by $1,300,000,” he said, noting the line will remain until renegotiated.
Union President Margaret Rogers Bing, speaking during public comments, said the off-cycle and expedited pay decisions had broader consequences. “When we do things like that, it does cause like 33 teachers … to leave,” she said, urging the board to consider contract timing and state budget constraints.
Board discussion also covered the technical details of the step adjustments: staff explained a portion of the change applied retroactively to parts of 2023–24 and that the full ongoing impact appears in 2024–25 and forward. Board members warned the $1.3 million is recurring unless altered in future negotiations.
Votes and motions at the meeting reflected routine business as well as HR actions. HR item 13 failed in a roll-call vote; HR item 14 passed after a separate roll-call vote. The board also approved the treasurer’s report and bills totaling $4,636,485.53 and approved grouped consent items in education, finance, policies and property.
What happens next: board members said they will continue to track staffing vacancies and attrition data and noted some vacancies remain unfilled. The board scheduled its next Committee of the Whole for Oct. 16 and the next business meeting for Oct. 23.
