| Southern Columbia Area School District | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Catawissa, Pennsylvania, Northumberland, 17820 United States |
|
| Information | |
| School board | 9 elected members |
| Superintendent | Mr.Charles Reh |
| Administrator | Robert Mehalick Director of special ed |
| Director | Brenda Monick director of curriculum and instruction |
| Principal | Mr.Joe Shirvinski ES |
| Principal | Mrs.Angela Farronato MS |
| Principal | Mr.Jim Becker HS |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Kindergarten | 112 |
| Grade 1 | 116 |
| Grade 2 | 113 |
| Grade 3 | 114 |
| Grade 4 | 109 |
| Grade 5 | 109 |
| Grade 6 | 128 |
| Grade 7 | 108 |
| Grade 8 | 121 |
| Grade 9 | 94 |
| Grade 10 | 97 |
| Grade 11 | 103 |
| Grade 12 | 117 |
| Mascot | Tigers |
| Newspaper | Tiger-news |
| Website | http://www.scasd.us/ |
Southern Columbia Area School District is a small, rural school district located in Catawissa, Pennsylvania. It is in Columbia County and draws students from both Columbia and Northumberland counties. Southern Columbia Area School District encompasses approximately 108 square miles. According to 2000 federal census data, it serves a resident population of 9,803. The per capita income of residents was $18,969 in 2009, while the median family income was $45,889. [2] In the Commonwealth, the median family income was $49,501 [3] and the United States median family income was $49,445, in 2010. [4] Per school district officials, in school year 2007-08 the Southern Columbia Area School District provided basic educational services to 1,424 pupils through the employment of 114 teachers, 141 full-time and part-time support personnel, and 7 administrators.
The district is composed of an Elementary Center housing Kindergarten through Fourth Grade, a Middle School for Fifth through Eighth Grade, and a Senior High School serving grades nine through twelve. Both the Elementary and the Junior/Senior High Schools are accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools and by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
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The school district is governed by 9 individually elected board members (serve four year terms), the Pennsylvania State Board of Education, the Pennsylvania Department of Education and the Pennsylvania General Assembly.[5] The federal government controls programs it funds like Title I funding for low income children in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the No Child Left Behind Act which mandates the district focus resources on student success in acquiring reading and math skills.
The Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives Sunshine Review gave the school board and district administration a "D" for transparency based on a review of "What information can people find on their school district's website". It examined the school district's website for information regarding; taxes, the current budget, meetings, school board members names and terms, contracts, audits, public records information and more.[6]
In 2011, Southern Columbia Area School District was 186th ranked out of 498 Pennsylvania school districts, by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on student academic performance, for the past five years, on the PSSAs for: reading, writing, math and three years of science.[7]
In 2009, the academic achievement, of the students in the Southern Columbia Area School District, was in the 67th percentile among all 500 Pennsylvania school districts Scale (0-99; 100 is state best) [10]
In 2011, the district had a 98% graduation rate. [11] In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4 year cohort graduation rate. Southern Columbia Area High School's rate was 91% for 2010. [12]
Former AYP graduation rate:
Of the 18 CSIU16 region high schools, Southern Columbia High School ranked 2nd for 11th grade reading achievement in 2010.[17] In 2009, it ranked 5th.
In 2010, Southern Columbia 11th graders ranked 5th out of 18 high schools in the CSIU 16 region for math achievement.[22] In 2009, the 11th grade ranked 1st in the region for math achievement on the 11th grade PSSAs.
College remediation: According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 14% of the Southern Columbia Area High School 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.[30] 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.[31] 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.
To graduate from Southern Columbia Area School District a student must earn 25 credits including passing the following courses: 4 credits of English, 4 credits of Social Studies, four credits of Math, four years of Science, four years of physical education and one of health. Students in grades 10 - 12 are required to schedule at least 6. 66 credits in each of their high school years. Students must schedule a minimum of 40 class periods per week. Students in grade 9 are required to schedule 7.66 credits. Students in grade 9 must schedule 46 class periods per week.[32]
By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project as a part of their eligibility to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor and its expectations are set by the individual school district.[33]
Beginning with the graduating classes of 2016, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary-level course work in Algebra I, Biology, Literature, and English Composition, in which the Keystone Exam serves as the final course exam. Students’ Keystone Exam scores count for at least one-third of the final course grade.[34]
The high school offers the Pennsylvania Dual Enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. The students continue to have full access to activities and programs at their high school, including the high school graduation ceremony.[35] Classes from Wilkes University, Kings College, and Luzerne County Community College are typically available to our students. Southern Columbia junior and senior students also have the opportunity to participate in Bloomsburg University’s Advance College Experience Program (ACE). The ACE program provides a 75% tuition reduction for high school students taking college level classes.[36] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[37] 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.[38]
In 2010 the district received a $6,975.00 state grant to be used to assist students with tuition, fees and books.
In 2011 and 2010 the school achieved AYP. [39]
6th Grade Reading:
6th Grade Math:
5th Grade Reading:
5th Grade Math:
In 2011 and 2010, the school achieved AYP status. [57] In 2011, the attendance rate was 95% whole the attendance rate was 92% in 2010. [58]
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Southern Columbia Area School Board established a district wellness policy in 2006 - Policy 246.[60] The policy deals with nutritious meals served at school, the control of access to some foods and beverages during school hours, age appropriate nutrition education for all students, and physical education for students K-12. The policy is in response to state mandates and federal legislation (P.L. 108 - 265). The law dictates that each school district participating in a program authorized by the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq) or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq) "shall establish a local school wellness policy by School Year 2006." The Superintendent or designee is required to annually report to the Board on the district’s compliance with law and policies related to student wellness.
The legislation placed the responsibility of developing a wellness policy at the local level so the individual needs of each district can be addressed. According to the requirements for the Local Wellness Policy, school districts must set goals for nutrition education and physical education that are aligned with the Pennsylvania State Academic Standards for Health, Safety and Physical Education, campus food provision, and other school-based activities designed to promote student wellness. Additionally, districts were required to involve a broad group of individuals in policy development and to have a plan for measuring policy implementation. Districts were offered a choice of levels of implementation for limiting or prohibiting low nutrition foods on the school campus. In final implementation these regulations prohibit some foods and beverages on the school campus.[61] The Pennsylvania Department of Education required the district to submit a copy of the policy for approval.
In December 2008, the district reported that 277 or 18.4% of its students received special education services. [62] In December 2008, the district reported that 19% of students received special education services.[63] The Southern Columbia Area School District provides a variety of opportunities for the screening and evaluation of students thought to have disabilities. In kindergarten all students receive screenings on readiness as well as standardized indicators of early literacy. The elementary school has an identified and trained Instructional Support Team (IST). The Instructional Support Team works with school staff to provide screening in various areas (cognitive, emotional, social, communication, motor, vision and hearing). Parents may request IST consideration through the building principal. The IST process can recommend interventions, further screening and/or a referral for multidisciplinary evaluation (MDE) for special education services for a student with a disability. At the middle and high school level these teams are in the form of Child and Pupil Study Teams. In addition, the district conducts screenings to identify students who may need special education through universal screens, health screens, group intelligence tests and achievement tests.
A multidisciplinary evaluation (MDE) can be requested at any level by school teams and/or parents if a student is thought to be in need of special education services. Once a student is identified to be in need of Special Education an Individual Education Plan (IEP) is developed and reviewed annually to offer the necessary Specially Designed Instruction. This plan would include all the necessary supplemental aides and services for the student to make meaningful educational progress.[64]
In 2010, the state of Pennsylvania provided $1,026,815,000 for Special Education services. This funding is in addition to the state's basic education per pupil funding, as well as, all other state and federal funding.[65] The Pennsylvania Special Education funding system assumes that 16% of the district’s students receive special education services. It also assumes that each student’s needs accrue the same level of costs. [66] The state requires each school district to have a three year special education plan to meet the unique needs of its special education students. [67] Overidentification of students in order to increase state funding has been an issue in the Commonwealth. Some districts have more than 20% of its students receiving special education services while others have 10% supported through special education. [68]
Southern Columbia Area School District received a $762,288 supplement for special education services, in 2010. .[69] For the 2011-12 school year, all Pennsylvania public school districts received the same level of funding for special education that they received in 2010. This level funding is provided regardless of changes in the number of pupils who need special education services and regardless of the level of services the respective students required.[70]
The District Administration reported that 67 or 4.64% of its students were gifted in 2009. [71] The program focuses on experiences directly related to general classes, expanding on current instructional material. Acceleration through the grade level content is provided by a gifted instructor, utilized enrichment opportunities, and advanced content related activities. The program is based on the interests of the student, allowing them to develop critical thinking skills. Secondary level students (7-12) are provided the opportunity to participate in Honors and Advanced Placement courses.
By law, the district must provide mentally gifted programs at all grade levels. The referral process for a gifted evaluation can be initiated by teachers or parents by contacting the student’s building principal and requesting an evaluation. All requests must be made in writing. The principal acts as the case manager for the referral process. A 60 calendar day time-line begins when the signed Permission to Evaluate form is received. To be eligible for mentally gifted programs in Pennsylvania, a student must have a cognitive ability of at least 130 as measured on a standardized ability test by a certified school psychologist. Other factors that indicate giftedness will also be considered for eligibility.[72] Through the strategic planning process, the Superintendent must ensure that Southern Columbia Area School District provides a continuum of program and service options to meet the needs of all mentally gifted students for enrichment, acceleration, or both. The district's program is based on student needs and provides differentiated curriculum using acceleration, enrichment and pull-out options.
In 2007, the district employed 212 teachers. The average teacher salary in the district was $47,981 for 180 days worked.[73] Additionally, the teachers receive a defined benefit pension, health insurance, professional development reimbursement, paid personal days, paid sick days, life insurance, retirement bonus and other benefits.[74] According to Rep. Glen Grell, a trustee of the state teacher retirement fund, a 40-year Pennsylvania public school educator can retire with a pension equal to 100 percent of their final salary.[75] In September 2010, the board approved a three year contract with the teachers' union. It gives the teachers a salary increase of 3.3 percent for the current school year - averaging a raise of $1,700 each for the length of the contract. In the 2011-12 teachers will receive a 3.19% raise. For the 2012-13 school year they receive another 3.09 percent increase. The contract will cost the taxpayers an additional $200,000 a year. Additionally, single teachers will pay between $1,173 and $1,500 for health insurance, depending on the plan they chose through the CSIU trust. The district will pay the rest of the bill of either $4,652 to $6,000. Teachers with families will pay between $2,706 and $3,723 with the school paying either $10,824 or $14,892, depending on the plan chosen.[76]
Southern Columbia Area School District administrative costs per pupil was $618.92 in 2008. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil.[77]
In 2007, the average teacher salary in the district was $47,981 for 187 days worked, 180 teaching days.[78] In 2011 the teachers' union rejected a one year salary freeze as a part of balancing the budget for 2011-2012.[79]
In 2008, the administration reported that the district per pupil spending was $10,666. This ranked 426th among Pennsylvania's 500 school districts.[80]
Reserves In 2008, the district reported an unreserved designated fund balance of zero and a unreserved-undesignated fund balance of $1,514,763.[81]
In April 2010, the Pennsylvania Auditor General conducted a performance audit of the district. Findings were reported to the school board and administration.[82]
The district is funded by a combination of: a local earned income tax, a local real property tax, a real estate transfer tax - 0.5%, and a per capita tax, coupled with substantial funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government.[83] Grants provide an opportunity to supplement school funding without raising local taxes. In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pension income and Social Security income are exempted from state personal income tax and local earned income tax regardless of the individual's level of wealth. [84]
In 2011-12, the district received a $4,288,404 allocation, of state Basic Education Funding. [85] Additionally, the Southern Columbia Area School District will receive $68,554 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. [86] 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. [87] In 2010, the district reported that 392 students received free or reduced price lunches, due to the family meeting the federal poverty level.[88]
For the 2010-11 school year, the state allocated the highest increase among Columbia County school districts to Southern Columbia Area School District with a 5.77% increase for $4,734,539. One hundred fifty school districts, in Pennsylvania, received a base 2% increase. The highest increase in the state went to Kennett Consolidated School District located in Chester County, which received a 23.65% increase in state basic education funding.[89]
In the 2009-2010 budget year the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 4.45% increase in Basic Education Funding for a total of $4,476,361. The highest percentage increase, in Basic Education Funding, among the school districts in Columbia County went to Berwick Area School District with a 6.11% increase. In Pennsylvania, twenty school districts received basic education funding increases over 10% in 2009. [90] Across the Commonwealth ninety school districts received the base 2% increase in funding in 2009. Muhlenberg School District in Berks County received a 22.31% increase in state basic education funding in 2009. The state Basic Education Funding to the Southern Columbia Area School District in 2008-09 was $4,285,546. 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.[91]
Beginning in 2004-2005, the state launched the Accountability Block Grant school funding. This program has provided $1.5 billion to Pennsylvania’s school districts. The Accountability Block Grant program requires that its taxpayer dollars are focused on specific interventions that are most likely to increase student academic achievement. These interventions include: teacher training, All Day Kindergarten, lower class size K-3rd grade, literacy and math coaching programs that provide teachers with individualized job-embedded professional development to improve their instruction, before or after school tutoring assistance to struggling students, For 2010-11 the district applied for and received $186,074 in addition to all other state and federal funding. The district uses the funding to provide Full Day Kindergarten.[92][93]
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, Math), along with other specialized equipment and provided funding for teacher training to optimize the use of the computers. The program was funded from 2006-2009. Southern Columbia Area School District received $95,283 in 2006-07 and $250,000 in 2007-08. The district did not apply for funding in 2008-09.[96]
The district received over $1,178,640 in ARRA (Federal Stimulus) funding in 2009-2011. This is in addition to all regular state and federal funding.[97] This funding was for the 2009-10 and 2010-2011 school years.
Southern Columbia Area School District officials did not apply for the Race to the Top federal grant which would have brought the district up to one million additional federal dollars for improving student academic achievement.[98] [99] Participation required the administration, the school board and the local teachers' union to sign an agreement to prioritize improving student academic success. In Pennsylvania, 120 public school districts and 56 charter schools agreed to participate. [100] No school district in the CSIU16 region applied to participate. 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.[101]
The school board elected 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.[102] After the review of the information, the district was not required to implement the recommended cost savings changes.
For the 2010-2011 school year, the school board levied property taxes for residents in Columbia County at 29.5300 mills while residents in Northumberland County were set at 47.8700 mills. A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value. The school district includes multiple municipalities in two counties, both of which have different rates of property tax assessment, necessitating a state board equalization of the tax rates between the counties. 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. [103] 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. 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. [104]
The Special Session 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 state Department of Education. The base index for the 2011-2012 school year is 1.4 percent, but it can be adjusted higher on a per district basis, by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, depending on a number of factors, such as local property values (Market Aid Ratio) 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, increasing health care 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 Pennsylvania 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. [109] In June 2011, the Pennsylvania General Assembly eliminated six of the ten the exceptions to the Index. [110] The following exceptions were maintained: 1) costs to pay interest and principal on indebtedness incurred prior to September 4, 2004 for Act 72 schools and prior to June 27, 2006 for non-Act 72 schools; 2) costs to pay interest and principal on electoral debt; 3) costs incurred in providing special education programs and services (beyond what is already paid by the State); and 4) costs due to increases of more than the index in the school’s share of payments to PSERS taking into account on the PSERS contribution rate. [111]
The School District Adjusted Index for the Southern Columbia Area School District 2006-2007 through 2011-2012. [112]
For the 2011-12 school year, the Southern Columbia Area School Board applied for three exceptions to exceed the Act 1 Index. It applied for these exceptions: Pension Costs, Maintenance of Local Tax Revenue and Special Education expenditures.[114] Each year, the Southern Columbia Area School Board has the option of adopting either 1) a resolution in January certifying they will not increase taxes above their 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 published annually, by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.[115]
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.[116]
For the 2010-11 budget, Southern Columbia Area School Board did not apply for any exceptions to exceed the Act 1 index limit. [117] In the Spring of 2010, 135 Pennsylvania school boards asked to exceed their adjusted index. Approval was granted to 133 of them and 128 sought an exception for pension costs increases. [118]
In 2010, the property tax relief was set at $88 for 3,241 property owners.[119] In 2009, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the Southern Columbia Area School District was $93 per approved for 3,090 permanent primary residences. In the district, 1541 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 Treasurer's office. Farmers can qualify for a farmstead exemption on building used for agricultural purposes. The farm must be at least 10 contiguous acres and must be the primary residence of the owner. Farmers can qualify for both the homestead exemption and the farmstead exemption. In Columbia County, 71% have sought the property tax relief exemption for their home or farm. In Northumberland County, 55% applied for the tax relief in 2009.[120] Pennsylvania awarded the highest property tax relief to residents of the Chester-Upland School District in Delaware County at $632 per homestead and farmstead in 2009 and $641 in 2010.[121] This was the second year they were the top recipient.
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, so people who make substantially more than $35,000 may 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%). %).[122]
Southern Columbia has two buildings an Elementary school housing k-4 and a middle school part housing 5th and 6th grade bulit in 1971 and a high school built in 1961. The middle school addition on the high school built in 1999 The second part of the middle school in the high school houses 7th and 8th grade.The jr/sr high school houses 9-12.
The district offers a variety of clubs, activities and sports. The Southern Columbia Area School Board determines eligibility policies to participate in these programs.[123] [124]
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.[125]
Southern Columbia currently holds the Pennsylvania state record for consecutive and total state football championships, with 5 and 6 respectively.