I have been extremely fortunate to spend almost my entire career working in rural, largely farming communities. Just about every day, a student, parent or community volunteer will step up and, in some way, demonstrate that unique character that defines our community.
It’s a great job, and I love coming to work every day, but after a little more than 25 years in rural education, I am deeply concerned that our district and many others in rural Pennsylvania are falling behind.
I am very proud of our students and their achievements. Our kids work hard. Our teachers and staff work hard. I am proud of our district and I am confident that we deliver a great education.
But our state’s system for funding public education is short-changing our students. Budget cuts have hit our classrooms hard. Programs have been cut and classes have become more crowded.
We need more resources. We need a school funding formula that is predictable, equitable, sustainable, fair and adequate. Right now, that simply is not the case.
Our budget today is less than it was in the 2008-09 fiscal year and that is after three consecutive years of maximum tax increases to our residents under Act 1. We have eliminated our business program as well as our family consumer science program. We’ve lost approximately 14 teaching positions through attrition — out of nearly 65 teachers in our entire district.
Unfunded mandates are an unfair burden on every school district but I’m growing convinced that Harrisburg does not truly understand how stretched rural districts are.
Consider the relatively new Keystone exams mandate. In some instances, we are required to provide a Project-Based Assessment (PBA) in order for some students to meet the Keystone requirements for graduation or advancement to the next grade.
We are required to provide that student with a tutor who is highly qualified in the specific subject areas. This can be a major challenge. We have just one biology teacher. We have 3 math teachers for grades 7-12. We have three English teachers for grades 9-12. We simply do not have the bodies to meet this mandate.
We stopped participating in some of the special education programs provided by our Intermediate unit to save money and are now providing those services ourselves. I’m confident that our district is providing these students with a high-quality education. But I now serve as the special ed supervisor for our Learning Support Students and our administrative assistants spend much of their time addressing the many unfunded state and federal mandates that have been imposed on school districts in Pennsylvania.
Like many rural districts, we cover a large area. Our 580 students live over 231-square-miles. We were forced to end our activities/sports bus due to budget cuts. The burden is now on parents to drive up to 30 miles round trip daily to pick up their child after practices.
Like many school districts, we are trying to be as innovative as possible to stretch every dollar and realize as many efficiencies as possible. Until very recently, we shared a French teacher with a neighboring district. (This teacher has since retired).
We share a driver’s education teacher with a neighboring district in the summer and are reviewing additional opportunities to partner with other districts. Still, efficiencies only go so far. We need more resources and we cannot continue to go back to our local taxpayers one year after the next for a property tax increase.
This is the time of year when, like every superintendent, we start to build our budget for the next fiscal year. This can be an exercise in futility, however, because right now, Pennsylvania does not actually have a “system” or funding formula. It changes every year so we do not know what to expect from the state.
We cannot credibly forecast what our state share might be from year to year and thus, long-term planning becomes nearly impossible.
Every day, I am reminded of how lucky I am to try and lead this district. Our students, teachers, staff, parents and community volunteers continue to step up and inspire. I am proud of the work we do as a district.
But our students, our parents and our local taxpayers deserve better. We need a funding formula that ensures that Northern Potter, the other Potter County school districts, and every district across Pennsylvania has the resources necessary to enable every child to meet state academic standards and be prepared for post-secondary success.
