WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. – The Whitehall-Coplay School District Board of Directors approved a reorganization plan that involves furloughed, reduced, demoted and eliminated staff positions during a special meeting Tuesday night at the education center. The vote was 5-4.
The resolution is 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 budget, approved April 27, also features a 4.7% tax increase. The proposed 4.7% tax hike is the highest amount Whitehall-Coplay can raise taxes, per the Act 1 Index.
Tuesday night’s proposal cut dozens of positions, including a biology teaching position, multi-tiered systems supports math teaching position, three elementary STEM teaching positions, and a middle school STEM/industrial arts teaching position.
“Instead of seeing those cuts as now an organized number on a very well-balanced spread sheet, I ask you to see the human side of this decision,” one speaker argued.
Whitehall-Coplay’s plan eliminates 12 secretarial positions — two from each of the five buildings and the education center. The resolution further indicates employee duties would be redistributed among the remaining staff and administration.
“These are not extra positions; these are the people who help schools function safely and effectively every single day,” another speaker said.
Additional cuts involve six paraprofessional positions due to program reductions. A maintenance position would also be axed with the duties reallocated to other maintenance staff. Still further cuts in the plan involve eight building substitute positions across the district. Finally, some district employees would be retained but demoted.
“This is a reorganizational plan; anything can be changed on this plan,” board President William Fonzone Sr. said about the proposal. “There are things in the works we cannot talk about now. If it makes a change and makes it positive, then we will be able to present that.”
On May 18, the board rejected a reorganization plan that would have eliminated about 30 positions.
The district will seek a 4.7% tax increase to address a roughly $6 million deficit in its $110.7 million spending plan.
“We have reached a crossroads where our educational aspirations are being directly challenged by our fiscal reality,” Schiffert said April 27, prior to the proposed budget’s approval. “The district is facing a significant budgetary shortfall.”
Schiffert said the reason for the deteriorated fiscal situation is “complex” and “multifaceted.”
“We are no longer have the luxury of making minor adjustments,” Schiffert said. “We must consider a significant organizational restructuring.”
During a public comment session prior to Tuesday night’s vote, Kevin Schwartz, a first-grade teacher in the district, said directors should consider the consequences of their votes.
“Consider the teachers this decision is going to effect,” Schwartz said. “The people who will feel the full weight of this decision are the untenured teachers.”
He called the proposal “an injustice.”
Resident Bruce Charles questioned how the district’s financial situation so quickly deteriorated.
“The school district discovers three months before the budget is due that there is a significant shortfall,” Charles said. “Sounds like people have been asleep at the controls.”
Briane Aquilla, a 2021 district graduate, said directors have a predictable strategy to address budget shortfalls.
“The school board talks about budget cuts, and it seems the first thing you talk about is cutting teachers,” she said.
Whitehall-Coplay School District officials on Monday warned of growing financial pressure as they reviewed the district’s proposed 2026-27 budget.
“All that is going to happen is our kids are going to learn less, the teachers are going to do more — they’re going to have larger class sizes and a whole lot less impact on our students,” said Allison Brobst, a parent.
“I understand the board is facing difficult financial decisions,” said resident Jennifer Maholick. “However, altering programs that directly prepare students for the future may create greater costs later.”
The proposed budget still needs to be adopted for the upcoming school year, and the board says it needs an approved reorganization plan before they can move forward.
“We are slated to meet with them,” said Whitehall-Coplay Education Association Vice President Beth Snyder. “So, we are hoping that the dialogue could continue.”