At this months School Board Meeting, the district will approve an early retirement incentive spanning the next two school years. While this is being framed as routine, these incentives are commonly used as a precursor to school closures and consolidations—not after decisions are made.
When a school is closed, fewer staff are needed. Early retirement incentives allow the district to quietly reduce staffing, avoid layoffs, and create flexibility to eliminate positions once a building is closed. The multi-year structure and decreasing payout strongly indicate advance planning for major structural change.
For the JM Hill community, this should be taken seriously. Early retirement incentives do not guarantee a closure—but they are frequently the groundwork that makes closures easier to execute. Once staffing is reduced, the path to closing a building becomes much smoother.
“No decisions made—yet preparations are underway.”
If the community waits, decisions may already be locked in.
CALL TO ACTION — THIS MONDAY
School Board Meeting: Monday, 1/26/26
7:00 PM
Via Zoom
Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_wycLc5RgShK1JeGhKv5Xkw#/registration
- Attend the meeting
- Speak during public comment
- Ask direct questions about JM Hill’s future
- Demand transparency before irreversible decisions are made
- Share this post so others know what’s happening and when
School closures don’t happen overnight—they happen step by step. This looks like one of those steps.
If you care about ESASD, now is the moment to show up, not after the doors are already closed.
Early Retirement Incentive
https://go.boarddocs.com/pa/esasdpa/Board.nsf/files/DQJUWW7E19B5/$file/MOU%20Prof%20Retirement%20Incentive%20Jan%202026.pdf