A new survey of Pennsylvania school districts produced some familiar results.
The survey released Wednesday in Harrisburg found the financial condition of the state's 500 school districts continues to decline in the face of flat or falling state, federal and local funding, presaging a third consecutive round of steep program and personnel reductions for the 2013-14 school year.
The organizations that conducted the annual survey, the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators and the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, said the cuts will create obstacles to success both now and in the future for many of the state's 1.7 million students.
PASA Executive Director Jim Buckheit said it is important to remember the reductions are cumulative, built on top of cuts each of the last two years.
"Districts will be reducing course offerings. They will be increasing class size, reducing extracurricular activities and athletic programs, and continuing to close school buildings across the state," Mr. Buckheit said in a conference call.
In one telling finding, the survey discovered that 75 percent of districts plan to reduce instructional programming in some way during 2013-14.
"That's higher than it's been either of the last two years," Mr. Buckheit said.
Among the other findings:
- Forty-seven percent of districts expect to increase class sizes next year. That comes after 51 percent increased class sizes this year and 70 percent did so in 2011-12.
- Thirty percent anticipate a reduction in elective course offerings. The electives include foreign languages, art, music and physical education but also courses in math, science, English and social studies.
- Twenty-three percent - plan to delay the purchase of textbooks.
- Twenty-two percent indicated they will reduce or eliminate programs that provide extra help or tutoring for struggling students, and 13 percent plan to eliminate summer school programs.
The survey found 64 percent of districts will reduce personnel by not filling vacant positions, and 20 percent plan to implement furloughs for 2013-14. Those reductions follow the loss of almost 20,000 teaching and staff support positions through attrition and layoffs the past two years.
Although district payroll expenses statewide fell by $483 million this year, most of the savings was eaten up by $336 million in increased spending for pensions, health care and other costs, said Jay Himes, PASBO executive director.
He said 47 percent of the school district leaders surveyed anticipate the financial condition of their district will worsen in 2013-14. Only 4 percent expect it to improve.
More than 70 percent of districts indicated they will tap their fund balance to offset expenditures exceeding revenues.
Scranton School District Superintendent William King, who is president of the Pennsylvania League of Urban Schools, said the state's urban districts have the greatest challenges and are "getting hit the earliest and the hardest."
"We had a meeting last week in Harrisburg, and it was slightly depressing to sit in a room with some of my colleagues and listen to the struggles they are going through," he said.
Over the last few years in Scranton, the district has had to eliminate tutoring programs, guidance counselors and reading specialists while seeking additional ways to save, including addressing health care and energy costs, he said.
The positions eliminated have been through attrition, but Mr. King said it is getting more difficult to do that.
"At the end of the day, as a district and a board, we are working to cut (expenses) and trying not to furlough people, but it is getting to that point where it is getting close," Mr. King said.
The PASA/PASBO survey was conducted in April and May, with 187 of the state's school districts, or 37 percent, responding.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com