Schools

East Penn Ranks as a Highly Efficient School District

A study of American public schools shows East Penn gives a high return on investment.

In a survey of almost all major school districts in the country by the Center for American Progress – a progressive think tank – East Penn School District is ranked near the top in return on investment.

The conclusion of the year-long study is that many American public schools continue to produce underachieving students in spite of the fact that spending by U.S. schools has “quadrupled” in as many decades.

But, based on the numbers the survey provides, East Penn is an example of a district that uses its money wisely.

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This echoes what school Superintendant Dr. Thomas Seidenberger said in an earlier interview, that in many ways, East Penn is a victim of its own success.

Today, in fact, is the deadline for East Penn to file for exemptions in the 2011-2012 budget process with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. By seeking exemptions, the school board can raise taxes above the standard index of 1.4 percent.

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Currently, the proposed budget calls for a 4.8 percent tax increase.

This budget is particularly troublesome because, Seidenberger said at a public forum in January, that East Penn already operates lean.

“We are not fat,” he said, “and that’s both the good news and the bad news.”

It’s bad news because no matter the final budget, cuts will still have to be made.

Dana Bacher, a founding member of East Penn Invested Citizens, or EPIC, who organized the forum with the superintendent, said she understands it’s going to be a difficult budget.

“... but it is encouraging to see that the East Penn School District has been able to achieve a good balance between spending and academic performance.,” she said in an email.”

The CAP survey tried to calculate how well the dollars spent per child in a district got results, or a return on investment. According to the survey, updated on Feb. 7, East Penn falls into the high-achieving, low-spending category, when compared to the rest of the country.

“As a taxpayer and parent of a child in the district,” Bacher said, “it's good to know that our money is being well spent on students. Having the best return for our tax dollars is what we, as taxpayers, should ask for and expect.”

In a ranking of local school districts by CAP, East Penn falls just under Parkland and just above Southern Lehigh as top area performing districts.

But that doesn’t stop the mantra of 'cut, cut, cut' when it comes to taxpayer attitudes about increasing taxes.

And that begs the question, what should be cut?

School District Rating: 0-95 Adj. Spending per Pupil % Low Income Enrollment Allentown 50 $5,881 77% 17,892 Bethlehem Area 69 $7,506 36% 15,306 Easton Area 66 $7,660 33% 8,940 East Penn 84 $8,139 13% 8,069 Parkland 86 $8,398 9% 9,186 Southern Lehigh 83 $9,328 8% 3,101

Chart information taken from CAP report.


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