Classification of Private Schools

[Crimson's Ghost]

Yeah after seeing the Johnstown parochial schools consolidate from 4 to 2 1/2 schools this year, i know people lost jobs.  How many 7th grade science teachers does one school need?

[LoneRanger]

I spoke with a good friend on mine about 2 months ago about school consolidation. Specifically Blairsville / Saltsburg school district. The savings in consolidation to 1 high school and keeping 2 elementary schools open was 2.5 million A YEAR. Teacher positions would have been eliminated by attrition. But of course the Parents complained and moaned and got certain board members to vote it down. It is only a matter of time before they combine certain sports I.e football since both teams only suit up 18-23 players a year (and that is a good year). My buddy said enrollment is going down every year at both schools and the AD is constantly recruiting kids to come out for football knowing full well they will never see the field but it helps the numbers which delays the inevitable of combining football teams.

[say_oww]

Hmmm, so a bigger savings then would be if all of the boroughs in a certain area consolidated into one and you could then eliminate duplication of all services.  Why have all of the government employees, solicitors, supervisors, police, fire, etc when you could just have one consolidated government ? Now thats an idea!!!

[knowitall]

You would have one superintendent but I bet you would now have two or three assistant superintendents.  You would have a full time athletic director.  To do what all day is a good question.  Other new administrative positions would be created.  More courses would likely be offered and few if any teacher positions would be eliminated.  Even if there was money to be saved I would be shocked if taxes were to be lowered.

As for Catholic schools.  Whole different budget and business model.

[Crimson's Ghost]

At the top, yes. But when you get to teachers. It's the same. 

I know of 3 notable mergers in recent years in Western PA, 

Ligonier and Laurel Valley. 
Center and Monaca became Central Valley
Kittaning and Ford City became Armstrong. 

Are there any known issues those 3 school districts are running into since the merger? 

[abpk2903]

You would have one superintendent but I bet you would now have two or three assistant superintendents.  You would have a full time athletic director.  To do what all day is a good question.  Other new administrative positions would be created.  More courses would likely be offered and few if any teacher positions would be eliminated.  Even if there was money to be saved I would be shocked if taxes were to be lowered.

As for Catholic schools.  Whole different budget and business model.

[abpk2903]

You would have one superintendent but I bet you would now have two or three assistant superintendents.  You would have a full time athletic director.  To do what all day is a good question.  Other new administrative positions would be created.  More courses would likely be offered and few if any teacher positions would be eliminated.  Even if there was money to be saved I would be shocked if taxes were to be lowered

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]If 2 schools districts that have an average enrollment of 500 students (40 per grade) merge, the students population of the new district is 1,000. A 1,000 student school district does NOT need multiple assistant Superintendents. In fact, they probably don't need an assistant superintendent at all.  [/font]
[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]The school also probably only need 2 high school guidance counselors, 1 high school principal, 1 7th grade math teacher, 1 athletic director, 1 director of cafeteria, need I go on?[/font]
[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]If more courses are offered to mitigate the loss of teaching positions, isn't that a win, win. It's gives the student population a broader curriculum and saves teaching jobs. That's a win, win.[/font]
[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I think central PA has so many misconceptions about what mergers actually looks like. Bus routes would be a few additional miles at most, overhead is saved by millions, students will likely have broader access to curriculum and extracurriculars, and we would be merging some of the tiniest districts in the state to still end up with a very small districts when compared to most school districts across the state.[/font]

[font=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Getting back to how this relates to high school sports. The A classification is basically designed for charter and private schools. Public districts graduating 25 students a year should just understand they aren't going to compete for a state championship. If you want to level the playing field as a tiny district you can co-op which likely will move you up a district and out of the classification with the majority of charters and privates. Pride gets in the way if this simple solution. The PIAA isn't going to change its entire system for the likes of Blacklick Valley, Ferndale, Portage, Claysburg, and such. [/font]

[CMM52]

When you look at the merger of Ligonier/Laurel Valley, Center/Monaca, and Kittanning/Ford City those have been nothing but positive experiences and have saved money. Since we are talking athletics here, it has done wonders for their athletic programs.

[knowitall]

How much have taxes decreased?

[CMM52]

How much have taxes decreased?

That's a good question and I'd venture to say none, but would also guess that there wasn't an increase.  If there has been then that is why we have state and local elections.  I'd suggest questioning those people and thinking about making some changes at the ballot.