SCRANTON, Pa. — With the stroke of a pen, Pennsylvania's acting Secretary of Education Eric Hagarty signed off on the Scranton School District to move out of the financial recovery phase, a day district officials have hoped for.
"This is a historic occasion for our district, and it would not have been possible without the hard work, dedication, and support of so many individuals," said Scranton Superintendent Missy McTiernan.
"The work has been hard yet satisfying. I have always believed that all children can learn and that all children deserve a great education regardless of zip code," said Candis Finan, the district's chief financial recovery officer.
Finan was brought on board to get the district's budget back on track.
Katie Gilmartin was the school board president when this recovery process began nearly four years ago with the guidance of Finan.
"We had an educator at the helm, and that was a wonderful gift to this district. In the partnership with Dr. Finan, with Superintendent McTiernan, with our board and all our administrators," Gilmartin said.
The Scranton School District is the second Pennsylvania school district to be released from recovery.
District officials say hard decisions had to be made to get to this point.
"We have fixed up some of our buildings, and we continue to do that, but we're in much better shape, with our buildings being safe and healthy. And now the focus needs to remain on why we're here," McTiernan said.
The district is now in the monitoring phase, meaning the state gives control back to administrators and the school board, but there is still work to be done.
"It's going to take tons of work," said Rosemary Boland, head of the Scranton Federation of Teachers. "But I think knowing the teachers in the Scranton Federation of Teachers and the paraprofessionals; we're up to it. We will take care of it."
Over the past three and a half years, the recovery plan included raising school taxes, freezing salaries, reworking vendor contracts, and closing some schools.
The recovery plan hasn't moved forward without some pushback.
- The Department of Education appointed Candis Finan as chief recovery officer to get the district's finances back in order.
- In April 2021, parents protested the closing of George Bancroft Elementary.
- Then in November of that year, Scranton teachers went on strike after working without a contract for nearly five years.
- Last April, the school district lost a fight in court when a Lackawanna County judge criticized the board and administration for failing to be fair in awarding a new busing contract for the district.
- In October, the district announced a two-phase plan to close and consolidate some elementary schools. Several town hall meetings were held to hear from parents about the changes.
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