Budget vote delayed until state sets funding

Board president cheered for equity announcements

FRANCONIA >> Souderton Area School Board was ready to take a final vote on its proposed budget at the board’s June 17 meeting, but put off the vote because the state budget wasn’t yet done.

The 2021-2022 budget year for both school districts and the state starts July 1.

“Unfortunately, we’re not moving as quickly as we hoped. I was really hoping to come in tonight and tell you that this is the amount of money Souderton would be receiving,” state Rep. Tracy Pennycuick, R-147th Dist., told the board.

“What I can tell you right now is I would expect that you will be getting more money. I can’t tell you how much,” she said, asking the board to delay its vote for about a week until the state budget was expected to be completed.

District officials previously said the district’s proposed budget keeps the amount of basic education and special education state funding at the same level as for 2020-2021, but if additional state funding is received, a proposed tax hike could be reduced.

The tax hike will not be more than 1.9 percent, Brian Pawling, the district’s director of business affairs, said at the board’s June 2 Finance Committee meeting.

The district’s current property tax rate is 30.32 mills, putting the bill for a home assessed at the district average of $176,704 at $5,357.67. Each mill equals $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value.

At the end of the June 17 meeting, it was recessed, rather than adjourned, making way for the school board vote on the budget to take place at a later date.

“We will come back at some point next week after we have more information from Rep. Pennycuick,” board President Ken Keith said.

The public will be informed about the meeting time, he said.

“It’ll be a short, one topic meeting,” Keith said.

Following in the footsteps of recent other board meetings at which equity in education questions were raised, the public com

ment section, which took up much of the three-hour long meeting, focused on equity issues.

There were again questions seeking more information on the work being done by the equity team, and there were also comments that a planned equity audit, which is required by the state for an update to required strategic planning, be dropped.

Some parents of minority students said their children were not discriminated against in the Souderton Area schools.

A parent said his 12-year-old daughter was recently victimized by another student in her class in a racially motivated anti-Semitic confrontation. The girl reported it to a teacher and the district handled the situation well, the man said.

“Thankfully, there was no physical violence here, but we are very afraid that the next incident will come and surely escalate if we do not deal with racism and equity as a community,” the man said.

Statistics quoted at the meeting showed test score gaps between students of color and white students. Students of color were also statistically more likely to be suspended, according to the speakers.

Other speakers questioned a recent assignment to some eighth graders in which the students were told to defend why they were not racist.

Several of the speakers were applauded, including some standing ovations. The first standing ovation and biggest applause came for Keith’s announcement early in the meeting that, “In Souderton, we are not following or teaching Critical Race Theory in our schools.”

District students may hear the term in classes, such as while discussing current events, but CRT will not be taught, he said.

The district is also not mandating or funding implicit bias training, he said. The Pennsylvania State Education Association teachers union provides implicit bias training, he said.

The term may be used under similar circumstances to CRT being mentioned in class, Keith said, “however, this training will not be thrown onto the laps of our children.”

The term equity has become politicized in the last year, which has created a blurriness about what it means, he said.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education defines equity as every student having access to the educational resources and rigor they need at the right moment in their education, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, language, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, family background and/or family income, he said.

“Simply put, no matter who you are or what you look like, you deserve a high quality education and the supports necessary to succeed. The Souderton Area School District has for years been focusing on equity in education for all students, including students of color,” Keith said. “Our entire districtwide educational system is purposely designed to ensure that we meet each student where they are, despite the diverse backgrounds and experiences, and provide them with opportunities, supports and assistance necessary for them to succeed and continually grow.”