Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
The Bensalem Township school board voted Wednesday to cut more than 30 positions \u2014 from teachers, counselors, and librarians to assistant principals \u2014 to help fill a $12 million budget gap.<\/p>\n
The board unanimously approved resolutions eliminating the positions for the 2026-27 school year, saying there was no avoiding painful decisions amid a dire financial picture.<\/p>\n
Even with the cuts, board members said, they still have to find $2.7 million more in savings to balance the budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of us want to be taking this vote tonight,\u201d said Stephanie Gonzalez Ferrandez, the board\u2019s vice president. \u201cThis is a mess we have been left to clean up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The district is facing rising costs from charter school tuition and special education, Ferrandez said. Meanwhile, she said, past school boards dipped into the district\u2019s savings and used federal pandemic relief money to balance budgets, rather than one-time measures.<\/p>\n
Bensalem is among the districts that have been receiving additional state aid<\/a> \u2014 an extra $1.8 million last year \u2014 following a Commonwealth Court ruling that found Pennsylvania has been unconstitutionally depriving children in low-wealth districts<\/a> of an adequate education.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s expected to take Pennsylvania seven more years to fully compensate underfunded districts, based on the state\u2019s formula. Like Bensalem, some of those districts are still struggling: Philadelphia schools are facing a $300 million deficit, and some others are using state money to simply maintain<\/a>, rather than make new investments.<\/p>\n While faulting past leadership for Bensalem\u2019s current budget troubles, Ferrandez noted that \u201cat this point, we have no indication of wrongdoing with regard to our finances.\u201d<\/p>\n