Clarion To Suspend Programs, Cut Jobs To Close $8 Million Deficit

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Clarion County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Clarion University of Pennsylvania on Monday announced it will suspend two degree programs, eliminate 42.75 positions and launch several new programs in an effort to plug an $8 million budget deficit that could balloon to $12 million by 2015.

University President Karen Whitney said the moves are designed to position the state-owned university for the future following several years of sharp declines in enrollment and state subsidies.

“At the forefront of this plan is for our students to graduate and succeed in their professional careers, thanks to the marketable skills they learn at Clarion,” Whitney said.

Read more: http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/4960880-74/education-clarion-programs#ixzz2j2581ntI
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Edinboro University Wants To Cut 42 Faculty, 5 Majors

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Erie County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

EDINBORO, PA – Edinboro University wants to cut more than 50 staff, including 42 professors, and eventually eliminate five majors due to declining enrollment and a resulting projected budget deficit.

The announcement comes a month after Clarion University announced plans to cut up to 40 jobs, including 22 faculty, and suspending music education, German and French courses.  The schools are two of 14 that comprise the State System of Higher Education. Kutztown University is one of the 14.

Read more: http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=510618

Pottsgrove Parent: French Teacher Can’t Speak French

Location of Lower Pottsgrove Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

LOWER POTTSGROVE TOWNSHIP – The Pennsylvania Department of Education has rejected a complaint filed against district administrators by the parent of a Pottsgrove High School student who argued the district has been negligent in ensuring that the school’s French teacher knows the language well enough to teach it.

In the complaint and in conversations with a reporter, Tony DiPaolo said he had tried for five months to work with the district’s administrators to resolve the issue, particularly when the teacher in question went on leave and the opportunity to find a native language speaker presented itself, but he met resistance and bureaucracy every step of the way.

In the end, “I had no choice,” he said.  “This not only affects my son, but all the other students who think they are being taught proper French.”

DiPaolo is multi-lingual.  His parents are Italian and spoke Italian in the home.  That home was in Montreal and Dipaolo attended a private school there staffed by instructors from France.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130429/NEWS01/130429239/pottsgrove-parent-french-teacher-can-t-speak-french#full_story