UNION TWP. — Northwest Area School District is running out of money and could be forced to cut programs, face a state takeover, or merge with another district, the superintendent says.

Superintendent Joseph Long blamed unfunded mandates and a state funding system he says short-changes small rural districts. At a town hall meeting at the high school auditorium Thursday, he urged residents to push state legislators to change the rules.

“I don’t know how it’s going to turn out,” Long told the crowd of about 160, some of whom were there for a meeting immediately afterward regarding a proposal to convert Bonham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center into a drug and alcohol treatment center. “But if we’re going out, we’re gonna go out with a fight. It’ll be a fight right to the end.”

The district is teaming up with other rural districts for the lobbying effort, he said.

Nuts and bolts

Right now, the district is projected to end the year with only $100,000 left in its reserves, Long said. That’s not even half a percent of its $22.33 million budget.

That’s after it digs into its savings to cover a $322,010 shortfall.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget would bring only about $51,000 in additional money next year — if it passes, Long said.

The deficit comes despite raising taxes as high as the state would allow without a special vote every year for the last five years.

“We can’t continue to live on the backs of our taxpayers,” Long said.

Rural issue

The funding formula Pennsylvania implemented after a state court found its old method of funding schools unfair didn’t bring any more money to Northwest, Long said. That’s because it didn’t take into account factors that cost small rural districts more than their urban counterparts, he said.

For instance, the state doesn’t factor transportation in costs, he said. That’s a big problem for districts such as Northwest, where buses have to cover more miles to pick up students than urban districts, he said.

Transportation is even more of a problem when special education students need to be shipped to centers in distant locations, such as Scranton, as part of their individualized education program, he said.

Moreover, small rural districts don’t have enough students and teachers to redistribute youngsters into larger classes that would bring down costs per student, Long said.

Expensive online schools

Meanwhile, cyber charter schools are draining around $1 million from the district every year, Long said. The district has 50 cyber students, he said, each of which cost $15,000 or more from Northwest’s coffers. That’s compared to about $12,000 per student who stays in Northwest’s brick-and-mortar school.

The state reimburses the district at $8,000 per student, regardless of whether they stay at Northwest or opt for a cyber charter school, Long said. The district is required to pay the students’ tuition if they decide to go to a charter school.

Northwest is also spending $800,000 per year to pay off loans for past projects, he said.

Meanwhile, with the Trump administration talking about dismantling the Department of Education, Long worries about what will become of the $451,750 it expects in federal funding for the coming year.

If that money is distributed through the state, there’s a good chance it will be channeled to the cities, he said.

Cuts made

The district has made cuts, Long said. In the last 10 years, it cut 21 teachers; including five teaching positions cut in the last five years.

It has changed the way it buys supplies to save money, and cut transportation routes, he said.

It founded its own online program to compete against outside charter schools.

Administrators are also looking for ways to buy health insurance for staff at a lower cost without changing benefits, he said.

“We have cut to the bone,” Long said. “I believe there is nowhere left to cut and not have an effect on students.”

COVID relief money can’t be used for most of the expenses, he said. Grants can offer limited help; most require a district match, he added.

That’s why he wants the public to pressure lawmakers.

“If we stay quiet, they think it’s O.K.,” he said. “And it’s not OK.”

Rep. Jamie Walsh, R-Sweet Valley, who attended the meeting, said the funding system is “broken.”

Residents have until June to “make some noise” to legislators before the 2025-2026 state spending bill is approved, he said.

Susan Schwartz covers the Berwick area. She can be reached at 570-387-1234, ext. 1306, and susan.schwartz@pressenterprise.net.