| Kane Area School District | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| McKean County, Pennsylvania United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | public school district |
| Superintendent | Dr. Maryann Anderson |
| Administrator | Mark Candalor, Tech Chief |
| Principal | Jeff Kepler, HS |
| Principal | James Fryzlewicz, MS |
| Principal | Linda Lorenzo, ES |
| Principal | Mrs. Natalie Miller-Martini, Curriculum |
| Vice principal | Jay Israel, ES |
| Vice principal | Todd Stanko, HS |
| Grades | K to 12 |
| Enrollment | 1166 (2009-2010) |
| Kindergarten | 83 |
| Grade 1 | 89 |
| Grade 2 | 77 |
| Grade 3 | 91 |
| Grade 4 | 74 |
| Grade 5 | 101 |
| Grade 6 | 83 |
| Grade 7 | 109 |
| Grade 8 | 94 |
| Grade 9 | 93 |
| Grade 10 | 84 |
| Grade 11 | 89 |
| Grade 12 | 101 |
| Other | Projected to decline by 200 students by 2016[1] |
| Website | Kane Area School District |
The Kane Area School District is a small, rural, public school district located in southwestern McKean County and parts of Elk County in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States, near the Allegheny National Forest. They are known as the Kane Wolves. The district encompasses an area of approximately 250 square miles (650 km2) and employes about 98 teachers, and 88 full-time and part-time support personnel.[2]
The students of the Mount Jewett borough attend school in the Kane Area School District, even though the borough is surrounded by Hamlin Township--belonging to neighboring Smethport Area School District. (See map of school district on right).
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The district includes all of or parts of the following municipalities, townships and communities:
Hamilton Township - Highland Township - James City - Jones Township - Kane Borough - Ludlow - Mount Jewett Borough - Wetmore Township
With the main offices located in the borough of Kane, PA the Kane Area School District has three schools currently open and one school that recently closed. They are the Kane Area High School, which is for Grades 9-12. It is located at 300 Hemlock Ave. There is also a middle school for Grades 6-8. It is located at 400 W Hemlock Ave. The one active elementary school (grades K-5) is Chestnut Street Elementary School on Chestnut Street. The Mount Jewett Elementary School closed its doors at the end of the 2007 school year. Only about 65 students attended the satellite school located 15 miles (24 km) east on Highway 6 in Mount Jewett.
The most recent demographics reported by the Kane Area School District were printed in the Kane Republican newspaper. It showed the student population breakdown by grade:
By school, the population is:
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, there are 1168 students enrolled in K-12 in 2009. There were 101 students in the Class of 2009. The senior class of 2010 has 83 students. Enrollment in Kane Area School District is projected to continue to sharply decline by 200 students by 2016.
Kane Area School District administrative costs in 2008 was $1062 per pupil. The district ranked 50th out of 500 Pennsylvania school districts in administrative spending. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil.[4] In a Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee study on school consolidation, 63% of the superintendents that responded expressed agreement that consolidation with another district could help them provide additional academic enrichment opportunities for their students.[5] Consolidation of the administration with adjacent school districts would achieve substantial administrative cost savings for people in both communities.[6] These excessive administrative overhead dollars could be redirected to improve lagging academic achievement, to enrich the academic programs or to substantially reduce property taxes.[7] One proposal is to disband the Kane Area School District. Residents in each township would decide through referendum, which school district to join in their county. Mount Jewett borough would be integrated into the Smethport Area School District.
Over the next 10 years, rural Pennsylvania school enrollment is projected to decrease 8 percent. The most significant enrollment decline is projected to be in western Pennsylvania, where rural school districts may have a 16 percent decline. More than 40 percent of elementary schools and more than 60 percent of secondary schools in western Pennsylvania are projected to experience significant enrollment decreases (15 percent or greater).[8]
Pennsylvania has one of the highest numbers of school districts in the nation. In Pennsylvania, 80% of the school districts serve student populations under 5,000, and 40% serve less than 2,000. This results in excessive school administration bureaucracy and not enough course diversity.[9] In a survey of 88 superintendents of small districts, 42% of the 49 respondents stated that they thought consolidation would save money without closing any schools.[10]
The Kane Area School District was ranked 366th out of 498 Pennsylvania school district based on five years of student achievement on PSSAs in reading, writing, mathematics and three years of science.[11] In 2009 the district ranked 308th and 342nd out of the 500 Pennsylvania school districts for student academic achievement by the Pittsburgh Business Times in 2008.
In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4 year cohort graduation rate. Kane Area School District's rate was 89% for 2010.[14]
According to traditional graduation rate calculations:
In 2009 and 2010, the high school achieved AYP status.[18]
College remediation: According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 24% of the Kane Area School District graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges.[22] Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years.[23] Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.
In 2010, the school board approved a dual enrollment agreement with Clarion University. This agreement permits high school students to take courses to earn college credits. Students remain enrolled at their high school. The courses count towards high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. The students continue to have full access to activities at their high school. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. The state offered a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books.[24] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[25] The Pennsylvania College Credit Transfer System reported in 2009, that students saved nearly $35.4 million by having their transferred credits count towards a degree under the new system.[26]
For the 2009-10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $1,320 for the program.[27]
In 2010 and 2009 the middle school achieved AYP status.[28] The attendance rate was 95% for both 2009 and 2010.[29]
PSSA Results:
8th Grade Math: |
8th Grade Science:
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In 2010, the school is in Warning AYP status due to low student achievement. In 2009, the school achieved AYP status.[36] The attendance rate was 95% in both 2010 and 2009.[37]
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Closed in 2008
5th Grade Reading:
2007 - 72%, State - 60%
5th Grade Math:
2007 - 81%, State - 71%
4th Grade Reading:
2007 - 72%, State - 60%
4th Grade Math:
2007 - 91%, State - 71%
3rd Grade Reading:
2007 - 91%, State - 60%
3rd Grade Math:
2007 - 83%, State - 71%
Mount Jewett is located in the heart of Hamlin Township--a territory surrounding the borough and belonging to neighboring Smethport Area School District. However, due to tax structures, Kane claims the town for their school system. Because of this fact, one school board member on the Kane Area School Board must be from Mount Jewett.
When the Mount Jewett Elementary school closed its doors it did not do it quietly. The town of Mount Jewett has since started a coalition to begin their own charter school using the building that used to house the elementary school. As of March 2008 the Kane Area School Board unanimously turned down this proposal. Their reasoning is because the board feels that it would create a financial impact on the district. "If 100 children from the district would attend the proposed school, Business Manager Steve Perry projects a net loss of between $530,000 and $600,000 in the district’s annual operating budget."[41] As a result of the governing body's decision, the Mount Jewett Charter School Coalition has appealed in an effort to push their new school forward.[42] The coalition currently has its own board of directors, who in turn have identified a proposed CEO.[43]
In 2010, School Solicitor, Chris Byham, reported that the school's property was donated by the Kane Estate. There is an education use restriction on the deed for the land. The solicitor is trying to clear restrictions from the deed.[44]
In 2009, the district employed 100 teachers. The average teacher salary in the district was $52,633 for 188 days worked. There are 182 student days. The beginning salary was $31,860, while the highest salary was $117,617.[45] Teachers work an 7 hour 40 minutes day, with one 35 minute planning period and a paid 30 minute lunch included. Additionally, the teachers receive: a defined benefit pension, health insurance teacher pays $60/month, life insurance, professional development reimbursement, 2 paid personal days, 10 paid sick days which accumulate, paid leave in the event of death in the family and many other benefits. The board offered a $20,000 cash retirement incentive in 2011. The board gives the teachers' union four paid days for conducting union business. When teachers are requested to perform professional services in excess of their regularly assigned schedule, they receive compensation at $25 per hour.[46]
In 2007, the average teacher salary in the district was $53,414 for 180 days worked. The district ranked first in McKean County for average teacher salary in 2007.[47] As of 2007, Pennsylvania ranked in the top 10 states in average teacher salaries. When adjusted for cost of living Pennsylvania ranked fourth in the nation for teacher compensation.[48]
In 2008, per pupil spending at Kane Area School District was $11,242 for each child. This ranked 373rd among Pennsylvania's 500 school districts.[49]
In 2008, the Kane Area School District reported an unreserved designated fund balance of $1,735,233 and a unreserved-undesignated fund balance of $1,375,195.[50]
In November 2010, the Pennsylvania Auditor General conducted a performance audit on the district. The findings were reported to the school board and administration.[51]
The district is funded by a combination of: a local tax on income, a property tax, a real estate transfer tax 0.5%, coupled with substantial funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government. Grants have provided an opportunity to supplement school funding without raising local taxes. In Pennsylvania, pension income and Social Security income are exempted from state personal income tax and local earned income tax, regardless of the level of wealth.[52]
In 2011-12, the district will receive $7,789,397 in state Basic Education Funding.[53][54] Additionally, the district will receive $91,320 in Accountability Block Grant funding. The enacted Pennsylvania state Education budget includes $5,354,629,000 for the 2011-2012 Basic Education Funding appropriation. This amount is a $233,290,000 increase (4.6%) over the enacted State appropriation for 2010-2011. The highest increase in state basic education funding was awarded to [[Duquesne City School District which got a 49% increase in state funding for 2011-12.[55]
In 2010, the district reported that 502 pupils received a free or reduced lunch due to their family meeting the federal poverty level.
For the 2010-11 budget year the Kane Area School District received a 4.28% increase in state Basic Education Funding for a total of $8,554,973 which was the highest increase in state funding among McKean County school districts. One hundred fifty school districts in Pennsylvania received the 2% base increase for budget year 2010-11. In McKean County, both Bradford Area School District and Smethport Area School District received the base 2% increase. The highest increase in the state was awarded to Kennett Consolidated School District of Chester County which was given a 23.65% increase in state basic education funding.[56]
In the 2009-2010 budget year, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 5.31% increase in Basic Education Funding for a total of $8,203,963 to Kane Area School District. By comparison, Governor Rendell gave a 7.46% increase in funding to Bradford Area School District and Port Allegany School District received a 4.53% increase in state Basic Education Funding. Muhlenberg School District in Berks County received the highest with a 22.31% increase in funding.[57] The amount of increase each school district receives is determined by the Governor and the Secretary of Education through the allocation set in the state budget proposal made in February each year.[58] The state Basic Education funding to the Kane Area School District in 2008-09 was $7,789,396.79.
In 2008, the district reported that 486 pupils received a free or reduced lunch due to their family meeting the federal poverty level.
The state provides additional education funding to schools in the form of Accountability Block Grants. The use of these funds is strictly focused on specific state approved uses designed to improve student academic achievement. Kane Area School District uses its $247,864 to fund all day kindergarten and for teacher training in teaching science. These annual funds are in addition to the state's basic education funding.[59] Schools Districts apply each year for Accountability Block Grants.[60] In 2009-10, the state provided $271.4 million dollars in Accountability Block grants $199.5 million went to providing all day kindergartens.[61]
The Classroom for the Future state program provided districts with hundreds of thousands of extra state funding to buy laptop computers for each core curriculum high school class (English, Science, History, Mathematics) and paid for teacher training to optimize the computers use. The program was funded from 2006-2009. Kane Area School District did not apply for funding in any of three years of the grant program. Of the 501 public school districts in Pennsylvania, 447 of them received Classrooms for the Future grant awards.[62]
The district received an extra $1,360,978 in ARRA - Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low income students.[63]
School district officials have applied for the Race to the Top federal grant which will bring the district hundreds of thousands of additional federal dollars for improving student academic achievement.[64] Participation required the administration, the school board and the local teachers' union to sign an agreement to prioritize improving student academic success.[65] In Pennsylvania, 120 public school districts and 56 charter schools agreed to participate.[66] Pennsylvania was not approved for the grant. The failure of districts to agree to participate was cited as one reason that Pennsylvania was not approved.[67]
The Kane Area School District School Board chose to not participate in the Pennsylvania Department of Education Common Cents program. The program called for the state to audit the district, at no cost to local taxpayers, to identify ways the district could save tax dollars.[68] After the review of the information, the district was not required to implement the recommended cost savings changes. The report found multiple opportunities for savings.
In 2010, the Kane Area School Board set the property taxes rate for Elk County residents at 32.5000 mills for the 2010-11 school year. McKean County residents were set at 14.8300mills.[69] A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value. Property taxes, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, apply only to real estate - land and buildings. The property tax is not levied on cars, business inventory, or other personal property. Certain types of property are exempt from property taxes including: places of worship, places of burial, private social clubs, charitable and educational institutions and government property. Irregular property reassessments have become a serious issue in the commonwealth as it creates a significant disparity in taxation within a community and across a region. Additionally, service related, disabled US military veterans may seek an exemption from paying property taxes. Pennsylvania school district revenues are dominated by two main sources: 1) Property tax collections, which account for the vast majority (between 75-85%) of local revenues; and 2) Act 511 tax collections, which are around 15% of revenues for school districts.[70]
Property tax rates in 2009-10 were complicated by an error of the Pennsylvania State Tax Equalization Board. The board establishes the market aid ratio for each community which is used in the calculation. The board produced erroneous numbers for 2010, which lead to incorrect taxes being levied in school districts that cross county lines. The numbers were eventually corrected.[74] An audit of the agency, called for by local legislators, revealed that the STEB's documentation of municipalities showed 65 percent of the sample contained one or more deficiencies.[75]
The Act 1 of 2006 Index regulates the rates at which each school district can raise property taxes in Pennsylvania. Districts are not permitted to raise taxes above that index, unless they allow voters to vote by referendum, or they seek an exception from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The base index for the 2011-2012 school year is 1.4 percent, but the Act 1 Index can be adjusted higher, depending on a number of factors, such as property values and the personal income of district residents. Act 1 included 10 exceptions including: increasing pension costs, increases in special education costs, a catastrophe like a fire or flood, increase in health insurance costs for contracts in effect in 2006 or dwindling tax bases. The base index is the average of the percentage increase in the statewide average weekly wage, as determined by the PA Department of Labor and Industry, for the preceding calendar year and the percentage increase in the Employment Cost Index for Elementary and Secondary Schools, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor, for the previous 12-month period ending June 30. For a school district with a market value/personal income aid ratio (MV/PI AR) greater than 0.4000, its index equals the base index multiplied by the sum of .75 and its MV/PI AR for the current year.[76] With the 2011 state education budget, the General Assembly voted to end most of the Act 1 exceptions leaving only special education costs and pension costs. The cost of construction projects will go to the voters for approval via ballot referendum.[77]
The School District Adjusted Index for the Kane Area School District 2006-2007 through 2011-2012.[78]
For the 2011-12 school year, the Kane Area School Board did not apply for exceptions to exceed the Act 1 Index. Each year the Kane Area School Board has the option of adopting either 1) a resolution in January certifying they will not increase taxes above their Act 1 Index or 2) a preliminary budget in February. A school district adopting the resolution may not apply for referendum exceptions or ask voters for a tax increase above the inflation index. A specific timeline for these decisions is publisher each year by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.[79]
According to a state report, for the 2011-2012 school year budgets, 247 school districts adopted a resolution certifying that tax rates would not be increased above their index; 250 school districts adopted a preliminary budget. Of the 250 school districts that adopted a preliminary budget, 231 adopted real estate tax rates that exceeded their index. Tax rate increases in the other 19 school districts that adopted a preliminary budget did not exceed the school district’s index. Of the districts who sought exceptions 221 used the pension costs exemption and 171 sought a Special Education costs exemption. Only 1 school district sought an exemption for Nonacademic School Construction Project, while 1 sought an exception for Electoral debt for school construction.[80]
In 2011, property tax relief for the 2,105 approved residents of Kane Area School District was set at $161.[81] In 2009, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the Kane Area School District was $157 per approved permanent primary residence. In the district, 2162 property owners applied for the tax relief. The relief was subtracted from the total annual school property tax bill. Property owners apply for the relief through the county tax assessment office. Farmers can qualify for a farmstead exemption on buildings used for agricultural purposes. The farm must be at least 10 contiguous acres (40,000 m2) and must include the primary residence of the owner. Farmers can qualify for both the homestead exemption and the farmstead exemption. In 2009, 68% of McKean County property owners applied for the property tax relief.[82] The highest property tax relief in Pennsylvania was awarded to Chester-Upland School District in Delaware County which received $632.
Additionally, the Pennsylvania Property Tax/Rent Rebate program is provided for low income Pennsylvanians aged 65 and older; widows and widowers aged 50 and older; and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income limit is $35,000 for homeowners. The maximum rebate for both homeowners and renters is $650. Applicants can exclude one-half (1/2) of their Social Security income. Consequently, people who make substantially more than $35,000 still qualify for a rebate. Individuals must apply annually for the rebate.
Property taxes in Pennsylvania are relatively high on a national scale. According to the Tax Foundation, Pennsylvania ranked 11th in the U.S. in 2008 in terms of property taxes paid as a percentage of home value (1.34%) and 12th in the country in terms of property taxes as a percentage of income (3.55%).[83]
Kane Area High School is the home to many different Varsity and Junior Varsity Sports. All athletic contests are under the jurisdiction of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association rules and regulations for that particular sport. Eligibility to participate is determined by school board policy. Students from Kane schools participate in Concert Band, Chorus Choraliers, Jazz Band or even Marching Band.
By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students in the district, including those who attend a private nonpublic school, cyber charter school, charter school and those homeschooled, are eligible to participate in the extracurricular programs including all athletics. They must meet the same eligibility rules as the students enrolled in the district's schools.[84]
The Kane Wolves won the AML (Allegheny Mountain League) football championship in November, 2007 and were 10-0 for the season. It was the first 10-win season in Kane history. The team's football coach—Jason Barner—was named AML Coach-of-the-Year.[85]
The boys' soccer team won 5 consecutive UAVSL League Championships from 2002–2006 and the 2003 District IX championship. That team advanced into the Elite Eight in the state tournament.
A famous graduate (class of 1991) is Amy Rudolph-Carroll, a 1996 Atlanta (top 10 in th 1500 meter run) and 2000 Sydney Olympic Games competitor.[86]