By Chris English/Staff Writer Five teachers and some support staff members will be laid off after this school year at Council Rock's Holland Middle School, school district Superintendent Mark Klein said Tuesday in a letter to school parents.
Klein said the layoffs will be the equivalent of 8.6 staff positions since not all the employees are full time. The layoffs will be announced at Wednesday night's public budget forum, during which the 2012-13 preliminary budget will be presented in detail, said Klein in the letter.
That meeting is at 7 p.m. at the Chancellor Center, 30 N. Chancellor St. in Newtown.
In the letter, Klein said the employees to be laid off are part of a "hybrid" fifth instructional team at the middle school that's been there the last five years.
"These reductions will include the removal of staff to include a teacher in math, science, social studies, English and reading as well as supporting staff in special education, counseling and health and physical education," Klein's letter said.
"These reductions come as a result of the two-year process of changing enrollment through the transfer of students at the Rolling Hills Elementary School to Richboro Middle School," it continued. "At the conclusion of this school year, both Richboro Middle School and Holland Middle School will support four full instructional teams. Our final staffing decisions at Holland Middle School will depend on the 2012-13 budget and on pending leaves and retirements."
In an email to the newspaper, Klein said he wanted to mostly defer any further comment or explanation to Wednesday night's meeting, but reiterated the layoffs are because of declining enrollment at Holland Middle School.
"Each middle school is arranged in teams of teachers in math, science, social studies, English and reading," Klein said. "At Holland Middle School, there were four full teams and then an additional team that was woven into the school to support the added number of students at Holland. That 'hybrid' team will be eliminated. As a result, both Richboro Middle School and Holland Middle School will support students in four (teaching) teams of about 130 students, two teams for grade seven and two teams for grade eight."
"Teachers, staff to be laid off" Bucks County Courier Times 16 May 2012: A3
