Deer Lakes School District

In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate. Deer Lakes School District's rate was 97% for 2010. [12]

According to traditional graduation rate calculations:

• 2010 - 98% [13]
• 2009 - 96% [14]
• 2008 - 98%
• 2007 - 98% [15]
• 2006 - 96% [16]

In 2009 and 2010, the high school achieved AYP status. [17] Deer Lakes High School was ranked 39th out of 123 western Pennsylvania high schools in 2009 by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on four years of student academic achievement as demonstrated on the PSSAs for math, reading, writing and two years of science.[18]

PSSA Results

11th Grade Reading:

• 2010 - 72%, State - 67% of 11th graders on grade level. [19]
• 2009 - 79%, State - 65% [20]
• 2008 - 67%, State - 65%
• 2007 - 79%, State - 65% [21]

11th Grade Math:

• 2010 - 64% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 59% of 11th graders are on grade level.[22]
• 2009 - 65%, State - 56% [23]
• 2008 - 76%, State - 56%
• 2007 - 69%, State - 53%

11th Grade Science:

• 2010 - 37% on grade level. State - 39% of 11th graders on grade level.
• 2009 - 49%, State - 40% [24]
• 2008 - 35%, State - 39% [25]

College Remediation: According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 22% of Deer Lakes 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. [26] 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.[27] 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.

By law, all Pennsylvania secondary school students must complete a project as a part of their eligibility to graduate from high school. The type of project, its rigor and its expectations are set by the individual school district.[28]

By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, beginning with the graduating classes 2016, students must demonstrate successful completion of secondary level course work in Algebra I, Biology, English Composition, and Literature for which the Keystone Exams serve as the final course exams. Students’ Keystone Exam scores shall count for at least one-third of the final course grade.[29]

The high school offers a 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 and programs 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. [30] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[31] The Pennsylvania College Credit Transfer System reported in 2009, that students saved nearly $35.4 million by having their transferred credits count towards a degree under the new system.[32]

For the 2009-10 funding year, the school district received a state grant of $13,672 for the program.[33]

In 2009 and 2010, the school achieved AYP status. [34]

The middle school eighth grade ranked 44th out of 141 western Pennsylvania eighth grades, 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.[35]

8th Grade Reading:

• 2010 - 89% on grade level (3% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 81% of 8th graders on grade level. [36]
• 2009 - 86% (8% below basic), State - 80.9% [37]
• 2008 - 83%, State - 78%
• 2007 - 82%, State - 75%

8th Grade Math:

• 2010 - 83% on grade level (%9 below basic). In Pennsylvania, 75% of 8th graders are on grade level.[38]
• 2009 - 77% on grade level. State: 71% of 8th graders were on grade level.[39]
• 2008 - 79%, State - 70%
• 2007 - 79%, State - 67%

8th Grade Science:

• 2010 - 71% on grade level (16% below basic). State - 57% of 8th graders were on grade level.
• 2009 - 63% (12% below basic), State - 55%.
• 2008 - 57%, State - 50% [40]

7th Grade Reading

• 2010 - 79% on grade level (11% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 73% of 7th graders on grade level.
• 2009 - 78% (6% below basic), State - 71%
• 2008 - 78% (9% below basic), State - 70%
• 2007 - 71% (14% below basic), State - 67%

7th Grade Math:

• 2010 - 84% on grade level (8% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 77% of 7th graders are on grade level.
• 2009 - 80% (11% below basic), State - 75%
• 2008 - 77% (12% below basic), State - 71%
• 2007 - 73% (11% below basic), State - 67%

6th Grade Reading:

• 2010 - 72% on grade level (11% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 68% of 6th graders are on grade level.
• 2009 - 74% (9% below basic), State - 67%
• 2008 - 73% (7% below basic), State - 67%
• 2007 - 77% (6% below basic), State - 63%

6th Grade Math:

• 2010 - 81% on grade level (11% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 78% of 6th graders are on grade level.
• 2009 - 78% (12% below basic), State - 75%
• 2008 - 80% (12% below basic), State - 72%
• 2007 - 74% (11% below basic), State - 69%

In the 2009-2010 budget year the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 2% increase in Basic Education funding for a total of $5,764,240. This was the lowest percentage point increase, in Basic Education Funding, for the school districts in Allegheny County and in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Four county school districts received increases of over 6% in Basic Education Funding in 2008-10. Chartiers Valley School District received an 8.17% increase. In Pennsylvania, over 15 school districts received Basic Education Funding increases in excess of 10% in 2009. Muhlenberg School District in Berks County received the highest with a 22.31% increase in funding. The state's Basic Education Funding to the Deer Lakes School District in 2008-09 was $5,651,215.24.[54]

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 391 students received free or reduced-price lunches due to low family income in the 2007-2008 school year.[55]

School district officials did not apply for the Race to the Top federal grant. When approved for the grant, the district would have received hundreds of thousands of additional federal dollars for improving student academic achievement.[56] Participation required the administration, the school board and the local teachers' union to sign an agreement to prioritize improving student academic success. In Pennsylvania, 120 public school districts and 56 charter schools agreed to participate.[57] Pennsylvania was not approved in the first round of the grant. The failure of districts to agree to participate was cited as one reason that Pennsylvania was not approved. A second round of state RTTT application judging will occur in June 2010.[58]

The district received an extra $1,250,575 in ARRA - Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low-income students.[59]

The Deer Lakes School Board set property tax rates in 2009-10 at 26.2500 mills.[60] Property tax rates in 2008-2009 were set at 25.3230 mills.[61] The millage rate was 24.0350 in 2007. A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value. Irregular property reassessments have become a serious issue in the Commonwealth as it creates a significant disparity in taxation within a community and across a region.

In 2010, property tax relief for Deer Lakes School District was set at $204 for 4,578 approved properties.[62] In 2009, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the Deer Lakes School District was $208 per approved permanent primary residence. In the district, 4,485 property owners applied for the tax relief. In Pennsylvania the highest 2010 property tax relief was for Chester Upland School District which was given $632 per homestead. The relief was subtracted from the total annual school property tax bill. Property owners apply for the relief through the county Treasurer's office. Farmers can qualify for a farmstead exemption on building used for agricultural purposes. The farm must be at least 10 contiguous acres (40,000 m²) and must be the primary residence of the owner. Farmers can qualify for both the homestead exemption and the farmstead exemption. In Allegheny County, 60% of eligible property owners applied for property tax relief in 2009.[63]

Additionally, the Pennsylvania Property Tax/Rent Rebate program is provided for low income Pennsylvanians aged 65 and older; widows and widowers aged 50 and older; and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income limit is $35,000 for homeowners. The maximum rebate for both homeowners and renters is $650. Applicants can exclude one-half (1/2) of their Social Security income, so people who make substantially more than $35,000 may still qualify for a rebate. Individuals must apply annually for the rebate. This can be taken in addition to Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief.

Property taxes in Pennsylvania are relatively high on a national scale. According to the Tax Foundation, Pennsylvania ranked 11th in the U.S. in 2008 in terms of property taxes paid as a percentage of home value (1.34%) and 12th in the country in terms of property taxes as a percentage of income (3.55%).[64]

A proposal has been made by David Wassell, a prominent resident and leader in Allegheny County, to consolidate Allegheny County school districts to save tax dollars and improve student services. The proposal is that Allegheny Valley School District join with Deer Lakes School District.[65]

Governor Edward Rendell proposed that consolidation with adjacent school districts, in each county, would achieve substantial cost savings. The savings could be redirected to improving lagging reading and science achievement, to enriching the academic programs or to reducing residents' property taxes.[66]

Pennsylvania has one of the highest numbers of school districts in the nation. In Pennsylvania, 80% of the school districts serve student populations under 5,000, and 40% serve less than 2,000. Less than 95 of Pennsylvania's 501 school districts have enrollment below 1250 students, in 2007.[67] This results in excessive school administration bureaucracy and not enough course diversity.[68] In a survey of 88 superintendents of small districts, 42% of the respondents stated that they believed consolidation would save money without closing any schools.[69]