SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Parkland School District may soon increase its staff.
In a presentation to the school board Tuesday, Assistant Superintendent Timothy Chorones specified staffing that the district may need to add to next school year’s budget.
The presentation proposed adding an equivalent of 18 full-time teaching positions across the district, including a new middle school orchestra teacher and math specialists.
He said the new positions would help sustain current programs and fulfill contractual obligations.
“As we're developing the budget, we will continue to evaluate areas across the district where support may be needed,” Chorones said.
The school district has added new positions in previous years because of continued enrollment increases.
The presentation also included a list of clubs at Springhouse Middle School that are eligible to become official this year: the Gay-Straight Alliance, the Green Team and the Pals Club.
New clubs go through a provisional period before becoming official.
What are the new positions?
The district is proposing to add a new orchestra teacher for the middle schools.
Enrollment within the orchestra classes has continued to increase over the past few years, Chorones said. Currently, the two middle schools share one teacher.
“Adding another position will help reduce the amount of students together in one spot."Asst. Superintendent Timothy Chorones
Because of that, class sizes are large. Springhouse Middle School doesn’t have enough space to accommodate all the students, so they currently use the cafeteria.
“Adding another position will help reduce the amount of students together in one spot,” Chorones said.
The district may also add two math specialists, one for each middle school. Each of the two schools currently has a reading specialist.
“Adding full-time math specialists offers additional intervention and instruction for students who need it and also provides support for teachers on best practices related to math instruction,” Chorones said.
The district is still looking to fill vacant school psychologist positions but is having difficulty with recruitment.
In the meantime, the district proposes adding a clerical position in the department to handle office tasks.
Other potential new staff members include a middle school girls wrestling head coach, two choreographers, five paraprofessionals and two teachers.
A full list of the proposed positions is available in Chorones’ attached presentation.
