Report shows all local school districts spending more money, reaping mixed test results
The latest review of the state’s school districts by a company well-known for its financial analysis shows all local districts spending more money in recent years but getting mixed test results. Standard and Poor’s School Evaluation Services findings from 1997 through 2000 lists eight of the 14 local districts with improved scores on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) tests and the rest with declining scores.
Looking at Pennsylvania as a whole, the report concluded that student achievement hinges on how money is spent more so than how much money is spent.
All of Fayette County’s schools districts were listed among those that gained points over the years on the PSSA. Joining Albert Gallatin Area, Brownsville Area, Connellsville Area, Frazier, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown Area school districts with higher PSSA scores were the neighboring California Area School District in Washington County and Belle Vernon Area School District in Westmoreland County. Greene County’s Carmichaels Area, Central Greene, Jefferson-Morgan and Southeastern Greene school districts as well as Washington County’s Bethlehem-Center School District and Southmoreland School District in Westmoreland County spent more like all the others but lost points on the PSSA.
Overall on Pennsylvania, the latest report found that 289 of the state’s 501 school districts increased both spending and PSSA results each year from 1997 to 2000 while 168 districts increased spending and decreased scores. Eleven districts spent less but improved their scores.
The School Evaluation Services report came out for the first time last fall with information from the 1996-97 school year through 1998-99. Data for 1999-2000 was added for this update that Standard & Poor’s released recently on the Internet.
The report uses hundreds of pieces of data primarily to show whether the school districts are getting a good academic return on their money.
Frazier School District Superintendent Dr. Frederick Smeigh said there was nothing surprising in the report and he believed his district posted good results again as it did last fall. He noted he found a few errors in information and advised Standard & Poor’s.
“Cost-wise, we still get more return on the dollar than the average district in the state,” Smeigh said.
Smeigh acknowledged 2000 was not the best year for the district’s PSSA scores but he said the scores remained above average and spending was comparable to the overall state average and to similar school districts.
Smeigh said he does question why the report uses median and mean information in different places. Otherwise, he said the report can offer a benchmark and is useful “as long as it is done accurately and reasonably.”
“I don’t have a problem with them putting the data out there. There is something like 1,500 data points. We report that data but it is not always in an easy format to get to, so I think it’s useful,” he said.
Several local school administrators surveyed like A.G. Substitute Superintendent Walter Vicinelly and Brownsville Superintendent Dr. Gerry Grant said they had not yet seen the lengthy report and could not comment.
Dr. Philip Savini Jr., Southeastern Greene School District ‘s assistant to the superintendent, said he also had not yet looked over the information but expected to use it for comparisons to other reports.
“We’ll definitely review it and study it and see how it compares to all of our assessments and see how it also compares to what we have in our strategic plan and go forth from there. We review our strategic plan every year. I can’t say for sure but that (School Evaluation Services report) could be another piece of data we look at for the strategic plan,” Savini said.
A highlight is the “observations” section that provides a summary of educational and financial factors.
This section makes note of a particular risk for A.G., Brownsville, Connellsville, Uniontown, Carmichaels, Jeff-Morgan and Southeastern Greene. The report states the districts’ below average PSSA mean composite scores “may not only increase the community’s proportion of under-educated students, but may also place the prospective labor pool created by the district at a competitive disadvantage.”
The “observations” section makes note on Carmichaels, Jeff-Morgan, Southeastern Greene, Beth-Center and California reports that the “comparatively high tax burden, as measured by its standardized tax rate, coupled with its relatively low full-market property value per student, may limit the district’s ability to generate additional revenue from local sources.”
Another recurring note was that a “comparatively high ratio of safety infractions per 100 students may have an adverse impact on the learning environment.” Beth-Center, California, Jeff-Morgan and Carmichaels include this note.
Meanwhile, the next installment of the School Evaluation Services report is expected by the end of this year when Standard & Poor’s adds the 2000-2001 data.
Standard & Poor’s is conducting the analysis of Pennsylvania’s schools under a four-year, $10 million contract with the state Department of Education that expires in June 2004.
The School Evaluation Services report is available at the Internet Web site www.ses.standardandpoors.com
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