DCIU Schools, Including Those in Marple, Affected by Chester Upland Financial Crisis

NEWTOWN SQUARE–Nancy Galbraith, vice president of the and vice president of the Delaware County Intermediate Unit (DCIU), announced at a school board meeting on Jan. 24 that the DCIU has also entered into the same litigation that was filed by the Chester Upland School District against the Pennsylvania Department of Education for failing to provide educational funding to the district.

"We have joined into that lawsuit in order to get back that money that is owed by the Chester Upland School District for special ed, technical, and other services that we provide," explained Galbraith.

Chester Upland School District has had trouble in paying the DCIU for special education services due to the state cutting  funding cuts and the movement of students to charter schools.

"We are owed money from the '10-'11 school year and we provide services for about $300,000 a month," said Galbraith at the meeting.

According to the DCIU website, the agency serves more than 80,000 school-aged students and more than 6,000 educators on a regional basis. Direct instruction is provided to more than 15,000 students enrolled in DCIU’s Special Programs, Career and Technical Education and specialized programs.

The Marple Education Center, one of DCIU's education centers located on Malin Road in Broomall, offers services such as autistic support, early intervention, and speech and language. offers programs such as multi-disabilities support, while the Don Guanella School offers life skills support.

According to Galbraith, if Chester-Upland does not pay the agency then the other 14 districts in the county will suffer.

"We're going to wind up paying more because Chester-Upland doesn't have the money to pay us," said Galbraith over a phone interview on Monday. "I don't know what's going to happen."

According to the Pennysylvania Record, a federal judge in Philadelphia ordered the state to pay $3.2 million to go towards teachers salaries, district employees and school vendors at Chester Upland.

But Galbraith is skeptical about the school district reviving itself from the financial crisis and worried more about the students enrolled in the Intermediate Unit (IU) programs.

"The kids are the ones who are going to suffer in all this," shared Galbraith. "Because of what we do at the IU, it affects the other school district. No matter what we do, it's a lose-lose situation. We can carry them for awhile but we can't carry them indefinitely. We can stop services but that's a moral dilemma for me– how do you stop services for special ed students who don't have the opportunities anyway?"

Last Friday, Rep. William Adolph (R-165) held a House Appropriations Committee Hearing on at Widener University to discuss the financial crisis at Chester Upland, reports the Delaware County Times.

A preliminary hearing on the Chester Upland lawsuit against the state has been scheduled for Feb. 23 before U.S. District Judge Michael M. Baylson.