There will be 497 teachers at the four local public school districts in the 2011-12 school year, 39 fewer than last year.
Each district - Line Mountain, Mount Carmel Area, Shamokin Area and Southern Columbia - has reduced its allotment of teachers in response to state funding levels that decreased with state budget cuts and the end of the federal stimulus program.
Line Mountain has the biggest reduction, 13, from 110 to 97; Mount Carmel has trimmed 12 teachers, from 121 to 109; Shamokin Area has 10 fewer, dropping from 185 to 175; and Southern Columbia has eliminated four positions, down from 120 to 116.
The reductions for the new school year, however, come after each of the four districts experienced at least five straight years where teacher numbers increased every year, according to data requested by The News-Item starting with the 2006-07 school year.
Even with this year's reductions, Mount Carmel Area, Shamokin Area and Southern Columbia all have more teachers for 2011-12 than they did in 2006-07. Line Mountain is the exception, with 97 this year and 101 six years ago. (See accompanying chart.)
Along with rising teacher numbers, student enrollment is also up slightly for Line Mountain (9), Shamokin (97) and Southern Columbia (8) from 2006-07 to the coming school year.
Mount Carmel is the only local district where teacher numbers are higher for 2011-12 (109) than 2006-07 (97) and yet the enrollment has dropped, from 1,769 to 1,550.
Shamokin's situation
In regard to the student-teacher ratio in his district, Shamokin Area Superintendent James Zack said enrollment numbers for students and staff have remained fairly steady since the 2006-07 school year. He said the amount of students has fluctuated from a low of 2,378 in 2008-09 to a high of 2,460 for the 2010-11 school year.
During the past five years, Zack said the average number of teachers in the district was 176, including a low of 170 in 2006-07 and a high of 185 during the past school year.
"The regional demographics and boundaries have remained unchanged, whereas our programs and academic curriculum changes have determined the need for teachers," Zack explained. "In the pre-school programs, the district runs a Pre-K Counts program for students identified as high risk. The funding comes from a state grant. Our K-4 program has boundaries within the classroom based upon contractual agreements to meet the guidelines that delineate the number of students per teacher ratio."
Zack said research has consistently proven that successful early childhood educational environments need to be structured around a highly qualified teacher who is assigned a maximum of 21 students, in accordance with the Shamokin Area Education Association contract.
Line Mountain's decline in teachers for the new school year is due to some vacant positions not being filled and some teacher contracts not being renewed, the administration reported.
Funding cuts
School boards wrestled throughout the spring and up until the June 30 budget deadline to trim programs, staff and other costs to arrive at a balanced budget in light of the state basic education funding cuts.
According to Gov. Tom Corbett's proposed 2011-12 reductions in basic education funding and eliminated programs for Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit, Shamokin Area and Mount Carmel Area school districts will lose $1,889,146 (14.1 percent) and $1,189,633 (13.4 percent) respectively. Line Mountain and Southern Columbia school districts will lose $928,992 (14 percent) and $641,863 (13 percent).
Following is the 2010-11 estimated total basic education funding received by the four districts:
Shamokin Area - $12,719,823.
Mount Carmel Area - $8,529,136.
Southern Columbia Area - $4,732,569.
Line Mountain - $6,351,942.
Zack said, "Our school district is experiencing serious reductions in funding from PDE. Our basic education subsidy funding was reduced by $1,218,423 from 2010-11 to 2011-12. Additionally, the funding for full-day kindergarten, also known as the Accountability Block Grant, which yielded $553,376, has been eliminated for the 2011-12 school year."
The superintendent said each district in the state received 30 percent of its expenditures for charter school tuition. Shamokin Area would have received approximately $200,000 in 2011-12, but the funding source was eliminated in the state budget.
Zack said the district's total state funding has been reduced by $1,971,799.
The superintendent said Shamokin Area School District experienced significant growth in programs in the past several years by taking over several special education classes formerly operated by the CSIU. Those programs include autistic support, emotional support and life skills that require highly skilled and trained professionals to meet the needs of the students.
Mount Carmel Area School District has made budget cuts totaling $1,381,476 for the 2011-12 school year. In addition to the decrease in state funding, the employer retirement contribution increased by approximately $225,000, while health care increased by $525,000 for the district for 2011-12.