Story Created:
Aug 3, 2009
Story Updated:
Aug 4, 2009
BURLINGTON - The young teachers who filled the Auditorium at Burlington High School Monday night were scared. They knew a dozen of their number could lose their jobs.
The Burlington Area School District lost nearly a million dollars in state aid. The school board's finance committee was charged with finding a solution.
"Anytime the expenses exceed the revenue it's a big problem," said Superintendent Ron Jandura shortly before the start of the meeting.
Peggy Makar is both a teacher and a parent. She entered the auditorium with a look of resigned fear. TODAY'S TMJ4 asked her what she is afraid of. "Losing programs," she said with a shake of her head. "Losing teachers. That will ultimately hurt kids."
But within thirty minutes of those comments, the finance committee found a short-term solution. The committee recommended tapping into the district's fund balance. A roughly $600,000 withdrawal will be used to cover the budget shortfall this year.
The jobs are safe for now.
"We stood to lose really good, enthusiastic young teachers and that would have been a very bad thing," said teacher's union President Bill Berkholtz as a sigh of relief could be heard from some of the young teachers.
But Superintendent Jandura sounded a warning as relieved parents and teachers exited the auditorium. "If we spend it this year, it's not there next," Jandura said. "It simply means that we'll have less of a reserve to work with next year."
The Burlington School Board had a safety net: its fund balance. But, every school district in the state is facing major cuts in state funding. Many of those school districts have no cash reserves to tap into. The squeeze is on.
