Harrisburg officials are laying out their plan to spend the school district’s $10 million budget surplus.
The Harrisburg School District says the surplus comes out to $10.6 million. Chief Recovery Officer Gene Veno says the plan for that money is $3 million to improvements in the district, $5 million into the general fund and about $2 million to teachers.
But the Harrisburg Education Association says more should go to teachers, who have had pay freezes for four years.
In last year's surplus, they received lump sum bonuses of 5% of their salary. This year, Veno's plan calls for them to receive 5%, but as a base return on their salary.
"We're losing teachers, it's an exodus of teachers because they're going to places that pay better," says Rich Askey of the Harrisburg Education Association. "Our folks are making $10,000 to $12,000 less than our colleagues throughout the midstate area."
The plan will need to be voted on by the School Board to be finalized. The superintendent declined to comment.
