A miracle in Upper Darby

 

It has been a rough couple of months in the Upper Darby School District.
This morning, 45 teachers who had been given pink slips as the district struggled to dig out of a $13 million deficit have been rehired, the beloved ‘special’ instruction in arts and music has been restored (albeit not in separate classrooms), and residents are applauding the way the board handled last night’s meeting, attended by more than 300 residents.

Superintendent Lou DeVlieger, the man at the center of this firestorm who found himself and his staff under withering attack, called what happened last night no less than a miracle. You can read about it here. It’s hard to argue with him.
This started back in April, when even DeVlieger admitted the administration “dropped the bomb” of curriculum change on an unsuspecting district.
The board had a big problem. They faced an overall $13 million deficit, but needed to make an immediate $4 million in cuts.
They swung the ax, and lopped a bunch of teachers while at the same time raising taxes. But that’s not what really raised the hackles of the community.
That was reserved for a “realignment” plan that would end “special” classes in arts and music at the elementary schools, as well as tech and language for middle schoolers.
Those teachers have now been restored, in no small part because legislators, including Rep. Nick Micozzie, R-163, Rep. Margo Davidson, D-164, and state Sen. Ted Erickson, R-26, found an additional $2.7 million in state funding.
As usual, money talks.
But something else happened in this story. The public talked as well. They packed several board meetings. They made their voices – and their displeasure – known. They demanded action, and they got it.
Now all Upper Darby has to do is figure out how they can repeat the “miracle” next year when they are very likely to face a very similar set of grim numbers.
For now, they rejoice in the “miracle.” So do we.