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Berwick Area SD board trims staff but votes to keep elementary reading specialist
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Summary
The Berwick Area SD board voted to amend proposed eliminations, removing the elementary reading specialist from a list of eight positions slated for attrition and instead eliminating seven positions; public commenters urged caution and board members debated tax options amid a projected deficit.
The Berwick Area SD board at a meeting approved an amendment to its proposed staffing reductions that removes the elementary reading specialist from a list of eight positions slated for elimination, reducing the total planned cuts to seven.
Staff presented a plan to shift personnel across levels so the district could preserve the elementary reading specialist while eliminating a secondary position. The presenter said the changes would move a high‑school English teacher to the middle school and place a middle‑school teacher into a reading‑specialist/intervention role, allowing the elementary reading specialist to stay in place.
"We would be moving a high school English teacher to the middle school and then move a middle school person into the reading specialist slash intervention role," the staff member said, summarizing the recommended shuffling. The staff member also described other changes: altering the middle‑school schedule to eliminate three middle‑school positions (two of them retirements), reducing secondary math staffing from eight to seven, reassigning guidance counselors between levels, filling one elementary special‑education opening internally and eliminating one special‑education position.
Public commenter Christina Colver of Salem Township urged the board to reconsider cuts at the elementary level and to preserve counseling support. "We really cannot afford to make a cut there," she said, adding that guidance counselors provide more than course selection help and play a key role for students facing bullying or other crises. Colver also said district policies have harmed LGBTQ students and called for a robust discussion about student safety and retention.
Board members framed the staffing decisions as part of a broader budget picture. Staff said the eliminations made at this meeting amount to about $875,000 in savings; the district still faces an estimated gap of roughly $2.9 million before additional measures. Members debated whether to raise the millage now (the range discussed was 0 to 4.8 units) or present a conservative May budget with a 0% tax increase and revisit revenue assumptions later. One board member cautioned, "There's a lot of unknowns right now," noting uncertainty about state aid and local revenue tied to planned data‑center development.
Staff told trustees they will present a budget in May that reflects the night's decisions and that the district plans to post the budget for public display in May and adopt a final budget in June. The chair also disclosed that an executive session had been held before the meeting to discuss personnel and legal matters.
The board's amendment to remove the reading specialist from the elimination list passed on a roll‑call vote. The meeting concluded with scheduling reminders for an upcoming special board meeting and the next regular meeting in May and an approved motion to adjourn.
