{"id":383,"date":"2026-06-02T16:43:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=383"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:43:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T16:43:51","slug":"the-wallingford-swarthmore-school-district-is-pushing-back-a-planned-high-school-renovation-amid-budget-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=383","title":{"rendered":"The Wallingford-Swarthmore School District is pushing back a planned high school renovation amid budget challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><div><div><audio><\/audio><\/div><\/div><p>The Wallingford-Swarthmore School District is cutting more positions and pushing back a planned high school renovation to balance next year\u2019s budget.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=381\">Meredith Elementary in South Philadelphia amends Pride celebration after conservative backlash<\/a><\/p><div><\/div><p>The reductions come on top of a downsizing in staffing approved this spring. And more cuts are likely coming, as the district tries to roll back what officials have described as a pattern of unsustainable spending in the 3,700-student district.<\/p><div><\/div><div><div><div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div><\/div><p>\u201cUnfortunately, we are at a point where we cannot continue to support the number of staff we\u2019ve added,\u201d Superintendent Russell Johnston said at a school board meeting last week, before board members approved a $106 million budget for the 2026-27 school year.<\/p><div><\/div><p>In addition to pushing off some borrowing for a high school renovation, the affluent Delaware County district is also looking at reducing the renovation\u2019s scope in light of fiscal constraints.<\/p><div><\/div><p>Here\u2019s what to know about the cuts the district has made so far, and what might be coming in the year ahead.<\/p><div><\/div><div><h3>A budget balanced with vacant positions, rainy-day spending<\/h3><\/div><div><\/div><p>District officials have attributed Wallingford-Swarthmore\u2019s financial difficulties to several factors, including rising costs confronting all school districts and a declining tax base in the heavily residential community.<\/p><div><\/div><p>But officials have also said the district has a spending problem, citing growth in staffing levels in recent years.<\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><p>Johnston, a former Massachusetts education commissioner who became Wallingford-Swarthmore\u2019s superintendent in May 2025, informed community members of significant budget challenges last fall.<\/p><div><\/div><p>In February, Wallingford-Swarthmore approved a reorganization plan that eliminated almost 20 positions, of a 562-member staff. <\/p><div><\/div><p>Officials said that restructuring would save the district $2 million. But they were still looking for cuts \u2014 saying that spending could not continue to outpace revenues.<\/p><div><\/div><p>The budget approved last week includes $550,000 in savings from not filling four positions that are becoming vacant. In one case, a high school science teacher is retiring, and the district is replacing her with a part-time teacher, Johnston said.<\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><p>The district also scaled back plans to borrow $40 million for capital projects next year \u2014 including for a planned high school renovation \u2014 to $10 million, which saved $880,000 in borrowing costs.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=379\">Newark mayor says city will sue on health grounds in effort to shutter Delaney Hall ICE detention center<\/a><\/p><div><\/div><p>But those changes weren\u2019t enough to balance the budget. The district raised taxes by 3.2% and spent about $550,000 from its reserves as part of the plan passed last week.<\/p><div><\/div><p>\u201cThose are rainy day funds. Those should not be used for operational purposes,\u201d Johnston said at last week\u2019s board meeting. He said that if the district doesn\u2019t make more cuts, budget projections show it will need to rely even more heavily on those reserves.<\/p><div><\/div><p>\u201c$550,000 would be a dream compared to what we see coming,\u201d Johnston said.<\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><h3>More staffing cuts, a scaled-back high school renovation are possible<\/h3><\/div><div><\/div><p>At the board meeting, Johnston noted past \u201crapid growth\u201d in district staff, with 70 people added between 2020-2021 and 2025-2026.<\/p><div><\/div><p>\u201cWe created a structural challenge for ourselves,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom a financial perspective, that is just unfortunately where we have to look.\u201d<\/p><div><\/div><div><\/div><div><\/div><p>The district has already made other cuts, Johnston said, including reducing supply budgets.<\/p><div><\/div><p>\u201cEven the cupcakes for the retirees tonight were not paid for by the school district,\u201d he said.<\/p><div><\/div><p>In an interview, Johnston declined to comment on where future staffing cuts might be made, but noted that the district plans to discuss the budget picture going forward at its June 9 finance committee meeting.<\/p><div><\/div><p>The district will also consider reducing the scope of its planned $99 million high school renovation, having recently asked architects to present a $65 million version.<\/p><div><\/div><p>Despite delaying some borrowing and reevaluating the renovation, Johnston said the district would begin smaller related projects next year.<\/p><div><\/div><p>Board members last week acknowledged the tight financial situation.<\/p><div><\/div><p>\u201cWe know we have some hard decisions to make for sure,\u201d said the board\u2019s president, Michelle Williams.<\/p><div><\/div><div><div><div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Inquirer logo\" class=\"wp-image-247\" height=\"160\" src=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2bec21343e8ecb6405667c96ea6d8fa9.png\" width=\"162\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Inquirer Greater Media<\/p><\/div><div><p>A weekly newsletter<\/p><p>Want to get Inquirer Greater Media straight to your inbox every week? Sign up here for our guide to the news, stories, and events shaping life in Media, Swarthmore, and Wallingford.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/corporate-movers-usa.com\/?p=377\">Lankenau Medical Center and other Main Line Health facilities had a narrow operating profit in the nine months ended March 31<\/a><\/p><\/div><div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More cuts are possible: \u201cUnfortunately, we are at a point where we cannot continue to support the number of staff we\u2019ve added,\u201d Superintendent Russell Johnston said last week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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