PHILIPSBURG – The Philipsburg-Osceola Area School Board voted to eliminate 45 jobs at Monday’s school board meeting.
The change comes after the board voted at a May 15 meeting to approve the tentative budget for 2006-07, a budget that calls for the temporary closing of Wallaceton-Boggs Elementary School and had outlined 59.5 jobs being cut. The board also granted the district’s administration the power to perform the necessary steps to act on the temporary budget. The budget must be displayed for 30 days after tentative approval. After that time, the board can vote for final approval of the budget.
A total of 20 positions were eliminated at the elementary level including a librarian, a music teacher and a half-time physical education teacher. At the secondary level, 13 positions were cut including one teaching position each in math, English, social studies, music, technology education, driver’s education and family and consumer sciences. Other jobs to be nixed are the director of reading, secretary to the board and superintendent, the dean of students and the technology coordinator.
Only one board member, Tony Campomizzi, voted against the elimination of the positions. Member Gerard DuBois was absent from Monday’s meeting.
The tentative budget approved by the board last week also increased taxes. A person with a home assessed at $50,000 would pay $226.55 in additional taxes in Clearfield County; in Centre County, a homeowner whose property is assessed at the same dollar amount will pay $35.01 in additional taxes. The figures differ due to equalization of taxes between property owners from the two counties.
Also at Monday’s meeting, Philipsburg-Osceola School District Superintendent Dr. Sonja Brobeck submitted her resignation, effective at the end of the day June 30. In the letter, Dr. Brobeck said it has been a pleasure to work with everyone in the school district and the community for the past eight or nine years.