MOUNTAIN TOP, Pa. — It was a sea of red in the auditorium at Crestwood High School, where parents like Amanda Modrosky of Mountain Top pleaded with faculty not to make drastic changes to employment and school programs.
"You are firing teachers due to your fiscal mismanagement of this district, you are firing teachers due to your physical mismanagement of this district," she said.
The board voted twice to furlough a total of 12 staff members.
This comes along with the district cutting elementary art and library programs in order to work out of a debt of more than $2.7 million.
"What are you guys sacrificing? What is administration sacrificing so then everybody can make this work," asked Jennifer Silva, Mountain Top.
"Can you all look daughter in the eye and tell her that you were taking away library and art from her and some of her favorite teachers, and do you feel good about it because this is who is hurting," added Alicia Fan of Mountain Top.
Crestwood Education Association President Janice Ciavarella disagreed with the board's cost-cutting measures.
"The board is cutting programs that benefit our children and demoralizing an entire community due to its inability to manage taxpayer dollars," she said.
Crestwood's new budget goes into effect on June 30.
As for the library and art programs, they will be ending at the end of this current school year.
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