Butler Area School District

The Butler Area School District is a very large school district in western Pennsylvania. It encompasses approximately 144 square miles (370 km2) and covers the City of Butler, the Boroughs of Connoquenessing and East Butler and Butler Township, Center Township, Clearfield Township, Connoquenessing Township, Oakland Township and Summit Township. The district operates ten schools -- Center Township Elementary School (grades K-4), Connoquenessing Elementary School (grades K-4), Emily Brittain Community Partnership and Demonstration School (grades K-4), McQuistion Elementary School (grades K-4), Northwest Elementary School (grades K-4), Summit Elementary School (grades K-4), Butler Middle School (grades 5-6), Butler Intermediate High School (grades 7-9), Butler Senior High School (grades 10-12), and Center Avenue Community School (grades K-12).

Butler Area School District
Address
110 Campus Lane
North Eastern United States

Butler
, (Butler County), Pennsylvania, 16001
United States
Coordinates40.866438°N 79.920409°W / 40.866438; -79.920409 (District office)
District information
TypePublic
GradesK-12
SuperintendentBrian J. White, Jr., Ed.D.
Asst. Superintendent(s)Brian Slamecka, Ed.D.
NCES District ID4204590[1]
Students and staff
Enrollment7738
District mascotTuffy the Tornado
ColorsWhite & Gold with Blue
Other information
Websitewww.basdk12.org

The 2006 enrollment for elementary students is 4310 students and for secondary schools is 3946 students.

Butler Area School District was ranked 147th out of the 498 ranked Pennsylvania School Districts in 2008 by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on student academic performance as demonstrated in 3 years of PSSA results.[2]

Academic achievement

Butler Area School District was ranked 45th out of 105 western Pennsylvania school districts in 2009 by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on three years of student academic performance on the PSSAs for math, reading, writing and one year of science.[3] In 2008 the school ranked 41st of 105 high schools. The district was ranked 147th out of the 498 ranked Pennsylvania School Districts in 2008 by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on student academic performance as demonstrated in 3 years of PSSA results.[2]

High school

The senior high school ranked 37th out of 123 western Pennsylvania high schools, by the Pittsburgh Business Times in 2009, for academic achievement as reflected by three years of results on: math, reading, writing and one year of science PSSAs.[4]

Graduation Rate:
2009 - 92%[5]
2008 - 91%
2007 - 91%[6]

PSSA Results
11th Grade Reading
2009 - 70% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 65% of 11th graders on grade level.
2008 - 68%, State - 65%

11th Grade Math:
2009 - 70% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 56% of 11th graders are on grade level.[7]
2008 - 70%, State - 56%

11th Grade Science:
2009 - 46% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 40% of 11th graders were on grade level.
2008 - 40%, State - 40% [8]

College Remediation: According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 27% of Butler Area School District graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges.[9] Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years.[10] Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.

Dual enrollment

The high school does not offer Pennsylvania's dual enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. Students remain enrolled at their high school. The courses count towards high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. The students continue to have full access to activities at their high school. The college credits are offered at a deeply discounted rate. The state offers a small grant to assist students in costs for tuition, fees and books. Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[11]

In 2001 the district was involved in a dispute over the validity of state charted cyberschools. In October of that year, a judge ordered the Einstein Academy not to collect over $43,000 for services to ten students of the district.[12]

Budget

In 2007, the district employed 507 teachers. The average teacher salary in the district was $50,073.[13]

Butler Area School District administrative costs per pupil in 2008 was $586.04 per pupil. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil.[14]

Race to the Top - School district officials did not apply for the Race to the Top federal grant which would have brought the district hundreds of thousands of additional federal dollars for improving student academic achievement.[15] The administration, school board and teachers' union were required to sign an agreement to prioritize improving student academic success.

In 2008, the district reported $5,632,000.00 in an unreserved-undesignated fund balance. The designated fund balance was over $8.8 million.[16]

In the 2009-2010 budget year the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 4.22% increase in Basic Education Funding for a total of $24,815,923. The state Basic Education funding to the district in 2008-09 was $23,811,450.48. Fifteen school districts in Pennsylvania received an increase of funding of over 10% in 2009-10 school year.[17] According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Butler Area School District had 2086 students receiving free or reduced-price lunches due to low family income in the 2007-2008 school year.

The district also received $5,586,922 in ARRA - Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low-income students.[18]

References
  1. "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Butler Area Sd". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  2. Pennsylvania Public School Rankings, Pittsburgh Business Times. May 23, 2007.
  3. Western Pennsylvania School District Rankings, Pittsburgh Business Times, May 15, 2009.
  4. The Rankings: 11th Grades, Pittsburgh Business Times, May 15, 2009
  5. Butler Area School District Academic Achievement Report Card 2009
  6. Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children - Pennsylvania High School Graduation Rates 2007
  7. 2009 PSSAs: Reading, Math, Writing and Science Results http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/school_assessments/7442
  8. Pennsylvania Department of Education Report on Science PSSA 2008 August 2008.
  9. Pennsylvania College Remediation Report https://www.scribd.com/doc/23970364/Pennsylvania-College-Remediation-Report%5B%5D
  10. National Center for Education Statistics
  11. Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement. Site accessed March 2010.
  12. "Legal fur flies over Pennsylvania cyberschools". eSchool Media Inc. October 1, 2001. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  13. Fenton, Jacob, Average classroom teacher salaries in Butler County, 2006-07. The Morning Call. Accessed March 2009.
  14. Fenton, Jacob. Pennsylvania School District Data: Will School Consolidation Save Money?, The Morning Call, Feb 2009.
  15. Pennsylvania's 'Race to the Top' Fueled by Effective Reforms, Strong Local Support http://www.education.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=7201&PageID=510952&mode=2&contentid=http://pubcontent.state.pa.us/publishedcontent/publish/global/news_releases/governor_s_office/news_releases/pennsylvania_s__race_to_the_top__fueled_by_effective_reforms__strong_local_support.html
  16. Pennsylvania Department of Education report on Fund Balances by Local Education Agency 1997 to 2008 Archived 2013-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  17. Pennsylvania Department of Education report on funding of schools districts. October 2009
  18. Butler County ARRA FUNDING http://www.recovery.pa.gov/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=519121&mode=2&countyname=Butler&contentid=http://pubcontent.state.pa.us/publishedcontent/publish/marketingsites/recovery_pa_gov/content/impact/county_map/counties/butler/butler.html Archived 2009-04-16 at the Library of Congress Web Archives
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.