| West Allegheny School District | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Urban/Suburban Findlay, North Fayette, and Robinson , the towns of Imperial, and Oakdale. |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Enrollment | 3246 pupils (2009-2010)[1] |
| Kindergarten | 226 |
| Grade 1 | 239 |
| Grade 2 | 218 |
| Grade 3 | 243 |
| Grade 4 | 258 |
| Grade 5 | 277 |
| Grade 6 | 254 |
| Grade 7 | 251 |
| Grade 8 | 278 |
| Grade 9 | 276 |
| Grade 10 | 247 |
| Grade 11 | 245 |
| Grade 12 | 234 |
| Other | Enrollment to decline to 2949 pupils in 2020.[2] |
| Color(s) | Scarlet and Grey |
| Mascot | Indian Brave |
The West Allegheny School District is a midsized, suburban public school district which is located in the western corner of Allegheny County, approximately 16 miles (26 km) from downtown Pittsburgh. The district comprises Findlay, North Fayette, and Robinson townships, and Oakdale borough. Imperial is the census-designated place located within the district boundary. The district encompasses approximately 62 square miles (160 km2). According to the 2000 federal census data, it serves a resident population of 18,950. The district residents' per capita income was $24,468, while the median family income was $57,886.[3] According to West Allegheny School District officials, in school year 2007-08, the West Allegheny School District provided basic educational services to 3,273 pupils. It employed 245 teachers, 143 full-time and part-time support personnel, and 18 administrators. West Allegheny School District received more than $10.2 million in state funding in school year 2007-08. The West Allegheny School District is home of the Pittsburgh International Airport terminal.
The district administration offices are located at 600 Donaldson Road, Oakdale, Pa., 15071.
The West Allegheny School District has three elementary schools located in Findlay and North Fayette, Pennsylvania. The elementary schools are: Donaldson Elementary School, Wilson Elementary School and McKee Elementary School. West Allegheny Middle School and West Allegheny Senior High School are located both on the main campus in Imperial, North Fayette township. West Allegheny was formed in 1949 by Charles Fazekus.
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The West Allegheny School District was ranked 6th out of 105 western Pennsylvania school districts in 2009 by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on three years of student academic performance on the PSSAs for: math, reading, writing and 1 year of science.[4] In 2008, the school district ranked 6th out of 105 western Pennsylvania districts and was 23rd out of 498 Pennsylvania school districts. In 2007 the district was ranked 34th out of 501 Pennsylvania school districts for student academic achievement.[5]
In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4 year cohort graduation rate. West Allegheny Senior High School's rate was 92% for 2010.[6]
Under the former calculation formula::
West Allegheny Senior High School's 11th grade was ranked 13th out of 123 western Pennsylvania high schools, by the Pittsburgh Business Times, based on three years of results in PSSAs on: reading, math, writing and one year of science.[10] The SHS is home of the Schools TV channel West Allegheny TV, or WATV which is found on local listings channel 45. This channel includes West A Today News such as weather, school cancellations, district or school info(upcoming events, etc.).
The SHS publishes their school newspaper Indian Tribune, and a magazine called the Red Review. The SHS is also home to the districts newspaper called West A Today which puts the news channel into the newspaper. The MS also has their personal school TV show which performs the same as the SHS use. The SHS is also home to the WA RADIO, local radio channel 104.3 FM. The MS also publishes their own school newspaper and magazine called the Indian Today and the WAMS review.
11th Grade Reading
11th Grade Science:
College Remediation: According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 35% of the high school's 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.[15] 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.[16] 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.
The high school offers a Dual Enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, 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 and programs at their high school including the graduation ceremonry. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. The state offers a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books.[17] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[18]
For the 2009-10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $9,309 for the program.[19]
In 2009, the 8th grade was ranked 7th out of 141 western Pennsylvania middle schools based on three years of student academic achievement in PSSAs in: reading, math writing and one year of science.[20] (Includes schools in: Allegheny County, Beaver County, Butler County, Fayette County, Westmoreland County, and Washington County
6th Grade Reading:
6th Grade Math:
In December 2009, the district administration reported that 488 pupils or 14.9% of the district's pupils received Special Education services.[26]
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.[27] 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 Special Education Department.[28]
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.[29]
West Allegheny School District received a $1,548,208 supplement for special education services in 2010.[30]
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.[31]
The District Administration reported that 105 or 3.20% of its students were gifted in 2009.[32] By law, the district must provide mentally gifted programs at all grade levels.[33] 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. 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.[34]
In 2007, the district employed 162 teachers. The average teacher salary in the district was $54,609 for 180 days worked.[35] In Pennsylvania, the average salary of the 124,100 public school teachers was $54,457. 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.[36] Additionally, the teachers receive a defined benefit pension, health insurance, professional development reimbursement, paid personal days, paid sick days, a retirement bonus and other benefits.[37]
In 2009, the district employed 265 teachers. The average teacher salary in the district was $59,146 for 191 days worked. The beginning salary was $40,920, while the highest salary was $134,427.[38][39] Teachers work an 7 hour 40 minutes day, with one planning period and a paid 35 minute, duty free lunch included. Additionally, the teachers receive: a defined benefit pension, health insurance (employee ays $35 per month), dental insurance, life insurance, professional development reimbursement, 3 paid personal days, 10 paid sick days which accumulate, 4 paid days bereavement leave and many other benefits. Early retirees may pay to continue their district health insurance benefits. The district offers an extensive retirement/longevity package which includes payment for unused sick days accumulated. The union receives 8 paid days to conduct union business each year. According to Rep. Glen Grell, a trustee of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System Board of Trustees, a 40-year educator can retire with a pension equal to 100 percent of their final salary.[40][41]
West Allegheny administrative costs per pupil was $915.65 in 2008. The district ranked 93 out of 501 Pennsylvania school districts in spending. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil.[42] In August 2011, the school board awarded 3.25% raises to administrators, and other employees. The annual salary of Superintendent John DiSanti increased from $143,445 to $148,107.[43]
In 2008, per pupil spending at West Allegheny School District was $13,745 for each child. This ranked 121st among Pennsylvania's 500 school districts.[44]
Reserves In 2008, the district reported a $3,847,539 in a unreserved-undesignated fund balance. The designated fund balance was repoted as $320,361.[45]
In December 2010, the Pennsylvania Auditor General conducted a performance audit of the district. The findings were reported to the administration and the school board by state officials. It found that the West Allegheny School District employed an uncertified teacher for 2 years. The issue was reported to the state's Bureau of School Leadership and Teacher Quality.[46]
The district is funded by a combination of a local earned income tax, 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.[47]
In 2011-12, the district will receive $5,166,410 in state Basic Education Funding.[48] Additionally, the district will receive $99,879 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.[49] 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.[50] In 2009, the administration reported that 646 students received a free or reduced price lunch based on the federal poverty levels.
For the 2010-11 budget year, the West Allegheny School District was allotted a 2.00% increase in Basic Education Funding for a total of $5,631,451. The highest increase in Allegheny County was provided to South Fayette Township School District which received a 11.32% increase. One hundred fifty Pennsylvania school districts received the base 2% increase. The highest increase in 2010-11 went to Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County which received a 23.65% increase in state funding.[51] The amount of increase each school district receives is set by the Governor and the Secretary of Education as a part of the state budget proposal given each February.[52]
In the 2009-2010 budget year the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 4.02% increase in Basic Education funding for a total of $5,374,050. Four county school districts received increases of over 6% in Basic Education Funding in 2008-10. Chartiers Valley School District received an 8.17% increase. 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 funding. The state's Basic Education Funding to the West Allegheny School District in 2008-09 was $5,166,410.07.[53] The amount of increase each school district receives is determined by the Governor and the Secretary of Education through the allocation made in the budget proposal made in February each year.
In 2008, the administration reported that 588 students received a free or reduced price lunch based on the federal poverty levels.
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 $271,036 in addition to all other state and federal funding. West Allegheny School District uses the funding to pay teachers to write new curriculum and revise current classes and to provide taxpayer funded preschool for 3 and 4 year olds, for the 6th year.[54][55]
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. West Allegheny School District did not apply for funding in 2006-07. In 2007-08, the district received $93,346. In 2008-09, the district received $104,876 for a total funding of $198,222.[56]
The district received an extra $1,473,215 in ARRA - Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low income students.[57] This funding was for school years 2009-10 and 2010-11.
School district officials applied for the Race to the Top federal grant. When approved for the grant, the district will receive hundreds of thousands of additional federal dollars for improving student academic achievement.[58] 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.[59] 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.[60]
West Allegheny 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.[61] After the review of the information, the district was not required to implement the recommended cost savings changes.
In 2010, the West Allegheny School Board set the property taxes rate at 22.000 mills for the 2010-11 school year.[62] 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.[63]
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 2.9 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.[70]
The School District Adjusted Index for the West Allegheny School District 2006-2007 through 2011-2012.[71]
For the 2011-12 school year the West Allegheny School Board did not apply for exceptions to exceed the Act 1 Index. Each year, the West Allegheny 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.[72]
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.[73]
For 2009 and 2010, the West Allegheny School Board did not apply for any exceptions to exceed the Index limit.[74][75] 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.[76]
In 2011, the state set the district's property tax relief at $195 for 5,820 approved homesteads and farmsteads.[77] In 2009, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the school district was $207 per approved permanent primary residence. In the district, 5,490 property owners applied for the tax relief.[78] 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 Allegheny County, 60% of eligible property owners applied for property tax relief in 2009.[79]
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.
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%).[80]
The district offers a variety of clubs, activities and sports.
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.[81]
The school colors are scarlet and gray, with the mascot being a Native American Indian depicted in full head-dress. The school's football team has gained notability by reaching play-off status during past years, and play divisional play-off games in Three Rivers Stadium. Through the 60's and 70's West Allegheny shared an intense rivalry with Fort Cherry School District.
PIAA AAA State Championship Game History: [82]
WPIAL AAA Champions: [83]