Whitehall School Board to consider plan that would cut dozens of district jobs, after previously declining proposed staffing cuts | Allentown Area

WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – Dozens of jobs would be cut under a proposed resolution Whitehall-Coplay School District board members will consider at a special board meeting Tuesday night.

It comes after the district Board of Directors rejected a reorganization plan earlier in May that would have furloughed, reduced and eliminated staff positions.

Under the plan to be considered Tuesday, a biology teaching position, MTSS Math teaching position, three elementary STEM teaching positions, and a Middle School STEM/Industrial Arts teaching position would be cut.

The district would eliminate 12 secretarial positions, two from each of the five buildings and the Education Center. The resolution says the workers’ duties would be redistributed among remaining staff and administration.

The district is proposing to cut six paraprofessional positions due to program reductions, the resolution says.

The district says paraprofessional duties would be reallocated among the remaining positions.

A maintenance position would also be cut, the duties of which would be reallocated to maintenance staff.

Under the proposed plan, eight building substitute positions across the district would be cut. In the resolution, the district says the positions are no longer necessary due to the increasing number of day-to-day substitute teachers.

A few other district employee positions would be demoted under the plan.

The Whitehall-Coplay School District Board of Directors had previously rejected a reorganization plan at a meeting earlier this month.

That resolution was Superintendent Christopher Schiffert’s attempt to address a roughly $6 million budget deficit in the district’s $110.7 million proposed 2026-27 spending plan.

The proposed school district budget also features a 4.7% tax increase. That is the highest amount Whitehall-Coplay can raise taxes per the Act 1 Index.

In the May meeting, Schiffert said the reason for the deteriorated fiscal situation was “complex” and “multifaceted.”

“We are no longer have the luxury of making minor adjustments,” Schiffert said. “…We must consider a significant organizational restructuring.”