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OPTIONS FOR MEETING THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES FACING THE ALLENTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT Prepared for: Education 2010! Prepared by: Dale DeCesare and John Myers Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, Inc. Denver, Colorado April 2006.
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OPTIONS FOR MEETING THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES FACING THE ALLENTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT Prepared for: Education 2010! Prepared by: Dale DeCesare and John Myers Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, Inc. Denver, Colorado April 2006
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
County-level Options Option 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
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
Conclusions Local 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
V. Conclusions Overall, the state-level options are considered the strongest candidates for achieving the goals of both ASD and Lehigh County School Districts