The front-page headlines of Tuesday’s Butler Eagle were reminiscent of a battlefield in which three county school districts suffered heavy losses.

But there’s also more than one message behind the school districts’ actions that led to those headlines. The main message is that excesses in those districts were evolving for too long — and the time has come to pull in the reins.

Now, with Gov. Tom Corbett calling for significant school subsidy cuts and districts facing constraints regarding new taxation, the issue of cutting costs is front and center. And, judging from fiscal projections, these and other districts will be dealing with serious budget issues for years to come.

In all cases, they have only themselves to blame for failing to plan for tough times.

Thus, the fallout from the three districts’ school board meetings on Monday:

• The Butler School District’s proposed 2011-12 budget, which was given tentative approval, calls for cutting 48 positions, including 20 teaching positions that involve retiring teachers who will not be replaced.

• The Seneca Valley budget, which received final approval, will necessitate elimination of 31 employee positions, including 16 teaching positions.

• Meanwhile, the Slippery Rock School District’s tentative budget calls for elimination of 10 teaching positions and 14.5 support staff positons.

Even with those and other cuts, none of the districts avoided a tax increase to balance their budgets. Butler plans to increase its property tax by 1.67 mills, Seneca Valley gave final approval to a 5.6-mill hike, and Slippery Rock proposes to increase its property tax by 3.3 mills. Teachers in all three districts refused to accept a pay freeze proposed by the governor, which would have provided some budget savings.

Indeed, more than the school boards are to blame for the situation that’s at hand.

While all three boards must shoulder significant blame for giving in to excesses, including failing to stand up to excessive contract demands and embracing a mind-set of continuing program expansions, so must the Pennsylvania State Education Association. It is the PSEA that promotes an unrelenting “gimme” mentality on behalf of its membership.

The excesses that it seeks — including pay increases well above the inflation rate and minimal contributions from its members for their generous health care plans — ignore districts’ increasing difficulties in finding the money to pay the tab.

Whether the message of Monday is sinking in yet at PSEA headquarters remains to be seen.

There’s an applicable message for school directors who will be in office at the end of this election year, and that message is built upon courage — courage to take necessary actions without simply digging into property owners’ pockets for more money.

And, for those unwilling to accept the realities, there’s the option of pursuing employment in richer districts or, simply, changing careers.

Not every longtime educator is better than new, eager individuals trying to make a positive mark in their field.

Residents of school districts appreciate the hard work and good jobs that the three districts try to do. But that doesn’t free the districts from acknowledging the financial burdens shouldered by taxpayers of those districts — and from accepting a share of the burden created by current circumstances.

The challenging 2011-12 budget process was too long in coming. Perhaps better senses will prevail in the future — but don’t count on it.