Lansdowne, PA – September 29, 2025

Dear WPSD community,

On September 24, students at Penn Wood High School-GAC organized a peaceful walkout to share their voices and advocate for their concerns about the current lack of extracurricular programming due to a delay in finalizing the contract with the William Penn Education Association (WPEA), our teachers’ union.

As the Board of School Directors, we support our students’ right to advocacy and are proud of the thoughtful way they expressed their concerns. We are listening and remain committed to working together on solutions.

We also want to provide important updates on several concerns raised:

Contract Updates
The board of school directors and WPEA are working closely together to finalize contract language. As a board, we have the responsibility to negotiate the teachers’ contract. We are nearing agreement and will share more information soon.

Chromebooks
The district follows a 1:1 Chromebook model in each school building. At Penn Wood High School-GAC, there are currently 1,500 Chromebooks for approximately 1,200 students. Students must return their Chromebook Loaner Agreement Form in order to receive their computer for the year for in-school and at-home use.

Seating at PWHS-GAC
The district is proactively addressing classroom seating at the high school due to full capacity, a long-term need outlined in our 10-Year Facilities Master Plan. An audit of available furniture and seating is being conducted to ensure each classroom is fully equipped. Once the audit is completed, furniture will be moved accordingly to fill in the gaps.  We did not intentionally purchase new furniture because our in-district inventory should be able to address the need.

State Budget
The state-elected officials are still in negotiations about the level of funding that will be provided to school districts. The WPSD Board passed a budget in June 2025 totalling $134.5 million. We are patiently waiting for a decision from the State. Currently we are depending upon local tax-payer dollars to fund our ongoing expenses. We have also borrowed approximately $10M to support us through this waiting period.

Once again, we thank our students for raising their voices and our families and staff for their ongoing partnership. Together, we will continue building a strong school community where every student feels heard, supported, and equipped to succeed

— WPSD Board of School Directors