| State College Area School District | |
|---|---|
"We are the future!" |
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| Type and location | |
| Type | Public |
| Country | United States |
| Location | State College, Pennsylvania |
| District Info | |
| Superintendent | Michael S. Hardy |
| Students and staff | |
| Students | approximately 7,000 |
| Teachers | approximately 675 |
| Staff | approximately 650 |
| District Mascot | The Little Lion |
| Colors | Maroon & Gray |
| Other information | |
| Website | State College Area School District |
The State College Area School District (SCASD) is a large, suburban school district based in State College, Pennsylvania that serves students and includes public schools in the Borough of State College, Pennsylvania, and the surrounding townships of College, Ferguson, Halfmoon, Harris, and Patton. This district operates nine elementary schools, three secondary schools (two middle schools and one high school), and charters four schools for operation.
The State College Area School District provides schooling for approximately 7,000 students in the 2011-12 school year.[1] The District is the third largest employer in Centre County. It is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of nine members. Each board member is elected for a four-year term of office.
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State College Area School District was ranked 26th out of 498 Pennsylvania school districts in 2011, by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on five years of student academic performance on the PSSA's for: reading, mathematics and writing, as well as, three years of science.[2]
In 2009, the academic achievement of the students of State College Area School District was in the 82nd percentile of Pennsylvania's 500 school districts. Scale (0-99; 100 is state best). [5]
In 2011, the State College Area School District graduation rate was 96%. [6] In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4 year cohort graduation rate. State College Area High School's rate was 92.81% for 2010. [7]
In 2011, the school was in Warning status due to lagging achievement of special education students and English language learners. The school achieved AYP. In 2010, the school was AYP status [11]
11th Grade Reading
11th Grade Math:
11th Grade Science:
The district's balanced academic competitiveness, accreditation, recognition for excellence, instructional expenditures, and small class size have received national acknowledgment. State College Area High School earned a silver medal in U.S. News and World Report's premiere ranking of the nation's best high schools in 2008 and was rated one of the "Top High Schools in the Country" by Newsweek magazine in 2007.
There is a debate between school board members and an organization named State High Vision (SHV). The school board plans High School Facilities Plan to demolish one of the high school buildings and disintegrate the other. The school board believes this is the most cost effective option and that they have looked at all of the options. State High Vision, an organization of some community citizens, claims that the plan was decided on with little community input. SHV also doesn’t like the creation of what they deem a mega-school (3,400 students in one building), claiming that students learn better in a smaller environment. A handful of students held walk outs in protest of the renovation project in 2007.
Currently the district, with the help of DeJong Inc. and the input of the community, is trying to craft a master plan to guide the district in the coming years.
However, proposals to close smaller neighborhood schools, such as Corl Street and Lemont, in order to create larger consolidated elementary schools has been met with fierce opposition from the community. Many residents contend that the proposals are costly, wasteful of valuable resources, and poorly envisioned for its historic properties. In particular, the proposal to close Lemont Elementary School [1], a splendid limestone structure from the 1930s in the historic village of Lemont, has garnered community involvement. A group opposed to its closing has formed as the Friends of Lemont School to convince the District to remain committed to neighborhood schools and be respectful of its historic schools through rehabilitating them rather than abandoning them. The historic school's possible closure promises to be a bellwether election issue.
In December 2010, the district administration reported that 889 pupils or 12.3% of the district's pupils received Special Education services. [20] [21]
In order to comply with state and federal laws, the school district engages in identification procedures to ensure that eligible students receive an appropriate educational program consisting of special education and related services, individualized to meet student needs. At no cost to the parents, these services are provided in compliance with state and federal law; and are reasonably calculated to yield meaningful educational benefit and student progress. [22] To identify students who may be eligible for special education, various screening activities are conducted on an ongoing basis. These screening activities include: review of group-based data (cumulative records, enrollment records, health records, report cards, ability and achievement test scores); hearing, vision, motor, and speech/language screening; and review by the Special Education administration. When screening results suggest that the student may be eligible, the District seeks parental consent to conduct a multidisciplinary evaluation. Parents who suspect their child is eligible may verbally request a multidisciplinary evaluation from a professional employee of the District or contact the Coordinator of Special Education. [23]
In 2010, the state of Pennsylvania provided $1,026,815,000 for Special Education services. The funds were distributed to districts based on a state policy which estimates that 16% of the district's pupils are receiving 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. [24]
State College Area School District received a $3,221,641 supplement for special education services in 2010.[25]
For the 2011-12 school year, all Pennsylvania public school districts received the same level of funding for special education that they received in 2010-11. 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. [26]
In 2008, State College Area School District per pupil spending was $13,633. This ranked 128th among 500 Pennsylvania public school districts.[27]
State College Area School District administrative costs in 2008 were $729.62 per pupil. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398, in 2008.[28] The district provides an extensive benefit package to all administrators. [29] Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Richard Mextorf, resigned on December 4, 2010 as a result of a DUI arrest. [30] The acting Superintendent of Schools as Michael Hardy. In June 2011, the school board awarded a five year contract to Dr. Robert J. O'Donnell as Superintendent with a starting salary of $169,000. [31] He was also given $20,000 for his expenses in relocating from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.[32] The salary was $15,000 more than the previous superintendent's contract.
The district is funded by a combination of: a local earned income tax - 1.7%, a property tax, a real estate transfer tax -0.5%, coupled with substantial funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government. Grants can 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 the of income level.[33]
In 2011-12, the State College Area School District received $6,307,887 in state Basic Education Funding. [34] Additionally, the district received $128,440 in Accountability Block Grant funding. [35] The Pennsylvania Department of Education reports that 1,220 pupils received a federal free and reduced lunch, due to the family meeting the federal poverty level.
State College Area School District's state Basic Education Funding, for the 2010-11 school year, increased by 2% for an additional $128,371 and a total of $6,434,044. The greatest increase, in state Basic Education Funding, in Centre County, was a 5.71% increase awarded to Penns Valley Area School District. One hundred fifty school districts received the base 2% increase for 2010.[36] Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County received the highest increase in the state at 23.65% increase in funding, for the 2010-11 school year. The amount of increase each school district receives was determined by the Governor and the Secretary of Education through the allocation set in the state budget proposal made in February each year.[37]
In the 2009-2010 budget year, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided State College Area School District a 2% increase, in Basic Education Funding, for a total of $$6,434,044. Penns Valley Area School District received an 3.89% increase, while the other two Centre County districts also received increases above 3.5%. In Pennsylvania, over 15 school districts received Basic Education Funding increases in excess of 10% in 2009. Muhlenberg School District in Berks County received the highest with a 22.31% increase in basic education funding from the Commonwealth. Ninety school districts received the base 2% increase in 2009. The state's Basic Education Funding to the State College Area School District in 2008-09 was $6,307,886.53 [38] According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 1,011 students qualified for free or reduced lunch due to low family income in 2008.[39]
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 State College Area School District applied for and received $348,619 in addition to all other state and federal funding. The district used the funding to provide all day kindergarten[40][41]
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) and paid for teacher training to optimize the computers use. The program was funded from 2006-2009. State College Area School District was denied funding in 2006-07. In 2007-08 the district was awarded $693,767. In 2008-09, the district received an additional $124,566 for a total funding of $818,333. Of the 501 public school districts in Pennsylvania, 447 of them received Classrooms for the Future state grant awards.[42]
The State College Area School Board chose to not permit the Pennsylvania Department of Education Common Cents program access to the district records. 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.[43] After the review of the information, the district was not required to implement the recommended cost savings changes.
The State College Area School District received an extra $2,285,966 in ARRA - Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low income students. [44] This funding was for 2009-10 to 2010-2011 school years.
State College Area School District officials did not apply for the Race to the Top federal grant which would have brought the district millions of additional federal dollars for improving student academic achievement. [45] 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. [46] Pennsylvania was not approved in the first round of the grant. The failure of districts to agree to participate was cited as one reason that Pennsylvania was not approved. A second round of state Race to the Top application judging will occur in June 2010. [47]
The State College Area School Board set the 2011-12 the property taxes were 36.8500 mills. 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. 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 (Local Tax Enabling Act), which are around 15% of revenues for school districts.[48]
In 2011, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the State College Area School District was $107 per approved permanent primary residence. Within the district, 13,305 property owners applied for the tax relief. In Centre County, the highest amount of tax relief in 2011, went to Bellefonte Area School District at $186. [54] 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. As required by law, the Commonwealth’s Budget Secretary certified on April 15, 2011, that $612,100,000 in state-funded local tax relief will be awarded in 2011-2012.
In 2010, approved residents received $110 for 13,106 properties [55]
In 2009, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the State College Area School District was $110 per approved permanent primary residence. In the district, 7,071 property owners applied for the tax relief. In Centre County, the highest amount of tax relief in 2009, went to Bellefonte Area School District at $198. The highest property tax relief, among Pennsylvania school districts, went to the residents of Chester Upland School District of Delaware County who received $632 per approved homestead.[56] In Cumberland County, 75.93% of eligible property owners applied for property tax relief in 2009.[57]
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. This can be taken in addition to Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief.[58]
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%).[59]
The Act 1 of 2006 Index regulates the rates at which each school district can raise property taxes in Pennsylvania. Districts are not allowed 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 2010-2011 school year is 1.4 percent, but it 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, increasing rising 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 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.[60]
The School District Adjusted Index for the State College Area School District 2006-2007 through 2011-2012.[61]
For the 2011-12 school year, the State College Area School Board applied for 2 exceptions to exceed the Act 1 Index: pension costs and special education costs. Each year, the State College 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 publisher each year by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. [64]
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. [65]
State College Area School Board applied for 2 exceptions to exceed the Act 1 index for the budget in 2010-11: pension costs and special education costs.[66]
State College Area School Board also did not apply for exceptions to exceed the Act 1 index for the budget in 2009-10. [67] 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.[68]
The district offers an extensive extracurricular program for elementary through high school students, including: clubs, activities and sports. Eligibility is determined by school board policy.[69] [70] The district's athletics programs are under the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.[71] Constraints on spending have been considered as a art of controlling costs district wide.[72] The district made cuts in its extensive intramural programs in 2011. [73]
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.[74] [75]
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