Budget cuts spark big protest at Perkiomen Valley High School

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. -- Students in Montgomery County are taking a stand against budget cuts - upset about a proposal that would remove some of their favorite teachers from the classroom.

500 plus Perkiomen Valley High School students walked out of class Friday morning to send a message.

Student Cassidy Mattiola tells us, "We need to let the board know how we feel about this. And we won't let our teachers be cut."

Another student, Sean Moriarity, says, "We decided to do this not only for the teachers in our community but also we know all around Pennsylvania there are teachers getting cut.

The Perkiomen Valley School District, like many, is once again facing tough budget cuts.

Jessica Lester from the Perkiomen Valley School District explains, "This year is the year where there aren't any more easy reductions left to make."

Now this is still very early into the budget process. School district officials say at this point they are just tossing around ideas on how to trim the budget.

One plan floating out there right now is cutting teachers at the high school. That proposal is what spurred the students to do something.

Mattiola says, "These are teachers who affect our community, who impact our lives."

But Lester tells Action News, "We didn't want the disruption to the school day. However we respect their right to express themselves, and felt it was important to honor that."

Today's stand is just the beginning for these students who say they expect this crowd to continue to work for a better solution in the classroom.

The students have started an online petition to save their teachers, and they have been in contact with their state legislators about the school's issues.

The students tell us they plan to attend the next school board meeting Monday night.

The district says if you have any ideas of how they can trim the budget, you're welcome to submit those on the district's website.