Gateway School District will lose some teachers and supplemental contract workers through attrition, but could gain additional teachers, according to the district’s latest proposed budget.
The district’s staffing projections were presented during a May 2 budget and finance committee meeting by Patricia Crump, the district’s director of human resources.
Crump said three teaching positions are expected to be eliminated through retirements or leave. The positions include two elementary teachers and a high school social studies teacher.
“All those three positions would be through attrition – no one would lose placements. They’re all based on people who have retired or who will be on leave,” she said.
The district will also decrease hours for 14 part-time teacher aides positions and delete four half-time positions, including some in special education, world language and art.
Crump requested the hiring of a half-time English as a second language teacher, two behavior-intervention specialists, a fifth-grade teacher, a math teacher and a special education teacher at Gateway Middle School.
Enrollment for the 2019-20 school year sits at 3,227 before all kindergarten registrations and screenings have been processed.
The number represents a decrease from last year’s enrollment, which was 3,361. Enrollment in 2013 was 3,551.
District Business Manager Paul Schott is recommending a property tax increase to fill a $2.2 million gap that, since March, has been shaved down to $1.1 million. He estimated the proposed tax rate of 20.4039 mills would generate $1.2 million in additional revenue.
The proposed millage rate would mean the owner of a $100,000 home in Monroeville and Pitcairn would pay an additional $54 in property taxes annually.
District officials and the school board will meet June 4 for a final public hearing on the budget.
The school board has until June 30 to approve a final budget.
For more information on kindergarten enrollment, call 412-373-5705.
