The June 23 Saucon Valley School Board meeting wound up being less contentious than anticipated, due to a surprising last-minute decision to table layoffs and other cuts that were originally scheduled to be voted on then, until later this summer.

Superintendent Dr. Craig Butler’s first order of business was to strike several fiscal decisions from the agenda, saying ,“there are a lot of unknowns that can occur between now and August,” as he asked for a temporary delay. These cuts were meant to be reflected in the adoption of the 2020-21 budget. The budget, in the amount of $47,940,758.00, had been previously passed before the economic impacts on the district from COVID-19 were fully known.

At the previous board meeting June 9, Butler shared the troublesome news that the district was expecting to have a deficit between $3 million and $8.5 million. In order to conserve funds and resist raising taxes on district residents, the district was going to propose conducting layoffs of at least five current administrative employees, changing the status of several others from full-time to part-time, severing ties with a number of contracted paraprofessionals and the cancellation of several projects, including the recently-approved Spanish Immersion Program, purchase of two new vans and more. Altogether, the cuts would have saved the district approximately $1.1 million.

Many district residents had joined the virtual meeting in order to speak during the agenda-related public comments segment early in the meeting but chose to refrain once the items were pulled. Previously, the May 26 meeting had to be canceled entirely due to an overflow of attendees on the Zoom application, necessitating the board’s adoption of a modified meeting structure June 9 and going forward. Several residents joined the prior meeting to urge the board to investigate other ways of funding instead of relying on cuts, suggesting looking into potential government grants as well as tapping the district’s $11 million fund balance.

Additionally, a number of residents waited until the later portion of the meeting for public comments not related to agenda items to comment on the potential future cuts. James Colbert, a teacher in the district, asked, “what does ‘being removed from the agenda’ actually mean?” Butler replied, saying that he is “seeing this as a positive thing,” as he hopes the “anticipated fallout in the [upcoming school year] will not be as bad as it could be.” Ryan McCann, a special education teacher in the district noted that Saucon Valley has “saved a lot of capital over the last several years” by choosing not to replace teachers who have retired or otherwise left. Several others echoed these concerns, with Jody Kozero, a paraprofessional at the elementary school who was on the list of staff facing a reduction to part-time status, expressing concern about fewer employee hours being devoted to students with IEPs, saying “I’m worried about our neediest children.”

Butler also followed many other local districts by giving a statement related to recent racial tensions across the country, saying, “racism, discrimination and hate have no place in the district.” He highlighted inequities in education and renewed the district’s commitment to “making sure all students have access to the resources they need.” Butler touted the measures that the district has taken in recent years due to national criticism over its reputation for being a hotbed of racism and bullying, mentioning Saucon’s Diversity Committees in each building, bringing in several guest speakers, implementing anti-bias training, and more. He also said the district recently updated policies and procedures to better address these issues. He closed by quoting Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Pedro Rivera, saying, “it’s a national and global problem that we all need to solve.”

The board also unanimously approved the district’s Athletic Re-Socialization Plan, which will operate in phases effective until Aug. 9. Board member Sandra Miller mentioned the need for a similar guidance for the marching band, as they typically start practices even earlier than some fall sports. Board President Dr. Shamim Pakzad also asked about opening up access to indoor weight rooms, adding an amendment to the motion which asserted that Athletic Director Robert Frey and Supervisor of Campus Operations John McCabe will have discretion to make the decision.