options for meeting the economic challenges facing the allentown school district prepared for:...
TRANSCRIPT
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OPTIONS FOR MEETING THE ECONOMICCHALLENGES FACING THE
ALLENTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT
Prepared for:Education 2010!
Prepared by:Dale DeCesare and John MyersAugenblick, Palaich and Associates, Inc.Denver, Colorado
April 2006
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ASD is in a revenue crisis that resources as presently deployed cannot resolve
A. High student need
B. Insufficient and inequitable state and local resources
C. Significant resource gaps that must be closed in a short period of time
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Inequitable State/Local Resources
Despite high local tax rates, ASD lacks local capacity to meet student needs
ASD is low property value, high tax effort district Less than half the property value per student of
most other Lehigh County districts A property tax rate that is the second highest in
the county and significantly above the statewide average
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Inequitable State/Local resources
Pennsylvania consistently ranks among the ten worst states in providing funds equitably to school districts
ASD state revenues per student fall below statewide average, and do not make up revenue disparities that exist between Allentown and other districts
In total revenues ASD is more than $2,000 per student behind statewide average
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Significant Resource Gaps, Little Time
To close per-student funding gap between ASD and state/county averages will cost in range of $30-35 million a year
An additional $10-12 million per year needed to provide for the higher student needs in ASD
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Significant Resource Gaps, Little Time
To achieve proficiency against state and federal standards and fully close the gap, considering the increased cost of educating ASD’s higher need students, would likely require about $75-77 million per year
Incremental remedies will only bring ASD in line with statewide, per student revenue averages, but will not address upcoming challenges
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The Impact of ASD’s Crisis on ASD Students is Severe Lowest per student spending in county
Lowest staffing level per 1,000 students of any district studied
Significant building maintenance and operation needs that require an estimated $250 million
Lowest spending per pupil on school and district administration
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Options to Address the Crisis
To help identify options, Education 2010! and APA presented the findings of the study in December 2005 and February 2006
Options were identified at 3 levels: State, County, and Local
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State-level Options
Option 1– Seek a special state legislative funding appropriation for ASD that brings the District’s total revenue up to the state average per student
Urgency of ASD crisis calls for a solution that can be achieved in a reasonable amount of time
Pennsylvania has long provided special assistance to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
Option 2 – Create a coalition to address reform of education funding at the state level
Pennsylvania consistently ranks among 10 worst states in providing funds equitably to districts
Unity among districts and other interested parties is needed to address state education funding reform
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County-level OptionsOption 3 – Create a uniform, county-wide
property tax for ASD
$30 million/year gap = 3.7 county property tax mill increase
75 million/year so ASD students can meet state and federal academic standards = 9.3 mill increase
Option 4 – Create a single, county-wide school district
Option 5 – Merge ASD with one or two surrounding districts
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Local Options
Option 6 - ASD should complete work towards creating a community foundation Generate funds for specific programs Dollars generated small in relationship to overall need
Option 7 - Raise local mill levy further Current levy already significantly higher than county
and state average
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ConclusionsLocal Options Limited
Level of new resources which local options can provide is likely to fall far short of addressing ASD’s overall needs
Evidence indicates more local tax hikes are unacceptable and would discourage future investment in the area
County Options Problematic Merging districts creates significant local control issues and political
challenges
With a county-wide property tax increase, all residents would pay more even though 2/3 of Lehigh County school districts are already above statewide average property tax effort
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V. Conclusions
Overall, the state-level options are considered the strongest candidates for achieving the goals of both ASD and Lehigh County School Districts