Oil City Area School District

In 2011, the Oil City Area School District graduation rate declined to 89%.[10] In 2010, the Pennsylvania Department of Education issued a new, 4-year cohort graduation rate. Oil City Area School District's rate was 83% for 2010.[11]

According to traditional graduation rate calculations:

• 2010 - 90% [12]
• 2009 - 89%
• 2008 - 82% [13]
• 2007 - 82% [14]

By law, all Pennsylvania high 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.[15] At Oil City Area Senior High School it is a four-year process that includes community service and career exploration through job shadowing.[16]

By Pennsylvania State School Board regulations, for the graduating classes of 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.[17]

From January to June 2011, 95 students took the SAT exams. The district's Verbal Average Score was 473. The Math average score was 482. The Writing average score was 441.[32] Pennsylvania ranked 40th among state with SAT scores: Verbal - 493, Math - 501, Writing - 479.[33] In the United States 1.65 million students took the exam in 2011. They averaged 497 (out of 800) verbal, 514 math and 489 in writing.[34]

The high school offers the Pennsylvania dual enrollment program. This state program permits high school students to take courses, at local higher education institutions, to earn college credits. 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.[35] Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions.[36] 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.[37] In 2010, the district received a $11,912 state grant to be used to assist students with tuition, fees and books. In 2012, the state ended the grant program, however the program remains open to students.

In 2011, the middle school declined further to Corrective Action II 1st year AYP status due to its failure to improve its low student achievement.[38] Under the No Child Left Behind law, the school is required to permit students to transfer to successful middle school in the district. No alternative school exists. In 2010, the middle school declined to Corrective Action I AYP status due to chronic low student achievement.[39] In 2009, the school was in School Improvement II AYP status. The Pennsylvania Department of Education required the school administration to develop an improvement plan. Students may transfer to a successful school in the district.[40] The attendance was reported as 95%in 2009. In 2010 and 2011 the attendance rate was reported at 93%.[41]

8th Grade Reading

• 2011 - 78% on grade level (11% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 81.8% of 8th graders on grade level.
• 2010 - 71%, 43% advanced (15% below basic) State - 81% [42]
• 2009 - 70%, 44% advanced (15% below basic), State - 80%
• 2008 - 76%, 40% advanced (14% below basic), State - 78%
• 2007 - 66%, 30% advanced (12% below basic), State - 75%[43]

8th Grade Math

• 2011 - 69% on grade level (17% below basic). State - 76.9% [44]
• 2010 - 74%, 48% advanced (13% below basic). State - 75%
• 2009 - 73%, 41% advanced (13% below basic). State - 71%
• 2008 - 69%, 32% advanced (10% below basic). State - 70% [45]
• 2007 - 69%, 31% advanced (17% below basic). State - 67%

8th Grade Science

• 2011 - 47% on grade level (30% below basic). State – 58.3% of 8th graders were on grade level.
• 2010 - 51% (28% below basic). State - 57%.
• 2009 - 44% (23% below basic), State - 54% [46]
• 2008 - 46%, State - 52% [47]

7th Grade Reading

• 2011 - 79% on grade level (9% below basic). State – 76% of 7th graders are on grade level.
• 2010 - 63%, 29% advanced (22% below basic). State - 73%
• 2009 - 62%, 23% advanced (17% below basic). State - 71.7%
• 2008 - 57%, 14% advanced (25% below basic). State - 70%
• 2007 - 62%, 25% advanced (19% below basic). State - 66%

7th Grade Math

• 2011 - 80% on grade level (13% below basic). State - 78.6%
• 2010 - 76%, 44% advanced (14% below basic). State - 77%
• 2009 - 76%, 46% advanced (12% below basic). State - 75%
• 2008 - 66%, 32% advanced (21% below basic). State - 72%
• 2007 - 65%, 29% advanced (18% below basic). State - 67%

6th Grade Reading

• 2011 - 76% on grade level (10% below basic). In Pennsylvania, 69.9% of 6th graders are on grade level.
• 2010 - 59%, 27% advanced (24% below basic). State - 68%
• 2009 - 47%, 23% advanced (27% below basic). State - 67%
• 2008 - 46%, 14% advanced (28% below basic), State - 67%
• 2007 - 50%, 14% advanced (22% below basic), State - 63%

6th Grade Math

• 2011 - 65% on grade level (17% below basic). State - 78.8%
• 2010 - 65%, 42% advanced (18% below basic). State - 78%
• 2009 - 61%, 36% advanced (19% below basic). State - 75%
• 2008 - 51%, 26% advanced (25% below basic). State - 72%
• 2007 - 40%, 8% advanced (30% below basic). State - 69%

The District Administration reported that 59 or 2.64% of its students were gifted in 2009.[66] By law, the district must provide mentally gifted programs at all grade levels. The primary emphasis is on enrichment and acceleration of the regular education curriculum through a push in model with the gifted instructor in the classroom with the regular instructor.[67] Students identified as gifted attending the High School have access to honors and advanced placement courses, and dual enrollment with local colleges. The referral process for a gifted evaluation can be initiated by teachers or parents by contacting the student's building principal and requesting an evaluation. All requests must be made in writing. To be eligible for mentally gifted programs in Pennsylvania, a student must have a cognitive ability of at least 130 as measured on a standardized ability test by a certified school psychologist. Other factors that indicate giftedness will also be considered for eligibility.[68]

In 2011-12, the district received $13,117,187 in state Basic Education Funding.[92] Additionally, the Oil City School District received $193,572 in Accountability Block Grant funding. The enacted Pennsylvania State Education budget includes $5,354,629,000 for the 2011-2012 Basic Education Funding appropriation. This amount is a $233,290,000 increase (4.6%) over the enacted State appropriation for 2010-2011. The highest increase in state basic education funding was awarded to Duquesne City School District in Allegheny County which received an over 49% increase for 2011-12.[93] In 2010, the district reported that 1,179 students received free or reduced-price lunches, due to the family meeting the federal poverty level.[94]

For the 2010-11 school year, Oil City Area School District received a 2% increase, in state Basic Education Funding, resulting in a $13,962,921 payment.[95] Valley Grove School District received a 3.88% increase, which was the highest increase in BEF in Venango County. Kennett Consolidated School District in Chester County received the highest increase in the state at 23.65% increase in funding for the 2010-11 school year. One hundred fifty school districts received the base 2% increase in 2010-11. The amount of increase each school district received was determined by Governor Edward G. Rendell and the Pennsylvania Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak through the allocations set in the state budget proposal made in February each year.[96]

In the 2009-2010 budget year, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 4.33% increase in Basic Education funding for Oil City Area School District, for a total of $13,689,139. The state Basic Education funding to the district in 2008-09 was $13,121,530.74. The district also received supplemental funding for English language learners, Title 1 federal funding for low-income students, for district size, a poverty supplement from the commonwealth and more.[97] Franklin Area School District received highest increase in BEF awarded by the Commonwealth, in Venango County, for the 2009-10 school year, a 6.43% increase. Among the 500 school districts in Pennsylvania, Muhlenberg School District in Berks County received the highest with a 22.31% increase in funding.[98]

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 1,005 district students received free or reduced-price lunches due to low family income in the 2007-2008 school year.[99]

Beginning in 2004-2005, the state launched the Accountability Block Grant school funding. This program has provided $1.5 billion to Pennsylvania's school districts. The Accountability Block Grant program requires that its taxpayer dollars are focused on specific interventions that are most likely to increase student academic achievement. These interventions include: teacher training, all-day kindergarten, lower class size K-3rd grade, literacy and math coaching programs that provide teachers with individualized job-embedded professional development to improve their instruction, before or after school tutoring assistance to struggling students. For 2010-11 the Oil City Area School District applied for and received $525,404 in addition to all other state and federal funding. The district used the funding to provide all-day kindergarten the 5th year and to change to research based instruction.[100][101]

The Classroom for the Future state program provided districts with hundreds of thousands of extra state funding to buy laptop computers for each core curriculum high school class (English, Science, History, Math) and paid for teacher training to optimize the computers use. The program was funded from 2006 to 2009. Oil City Area School District did not apply for funding for 2006-07. In 2007-08 the district received $265,421 and in 2008-09 it received $48,388 for a total funding of $313,809. Of the 501 public school districts in Pennsylvania, 447 of them received Classrooms for the Future state grant awards.[102]

The state's EAP funding provides for the continuing support of tutoring services and other programs to address the academic needs of eligible students. Funds are available to eligible school districts and full-time career and technology centers (CTC) in which one or more schools have failed to meet at least one academic performance target, as provided for in Section 1512-C of the Pennsylvania Public School Code. In 2010-11 the Oil City Area School District did not apply for funding.[103]

The district received an extra $4,038,935 in ARRA - Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low-income students.[104] The funding is for the 2009–10 and 2010-11 school years.

Oil City Area School District officials did not apply for the Race to the Top federal grant which would have brought the district over one million additional federal dollars for improving student academic achievement.[105] Participation required the administration, the school board and the local teachers' union to sign an agreement to prioritize improving student academic success.[106] In Pennsylvania, 120 public school districts and 56 charter schools agreed to participate.[107] Pennsylvania was not approved for the grant. The failure of districts to agree to participate was cited as one reason that Pennsylvania was not approved.[108]

In 2010, Pennsylvania received $141 million from the federal department of education, to turn around its worst-performing schools. The funds were disbursed via a competitive grant program.[109] The Pennsylvania Department of Education had identified 200 Pennsylvania schools as "persistently lowest-achieving," making them eligible for this special funding.[110] Pennsylvania required low performing schools to apply or provide documentation about why they had not applied. The funds must be used, by the district, to turn around schools in one of four ways: school closure, restart - close the school and reopen it as a charter school. The other two options involve firing the principal. One would require at least half the faculty in a chronically poor performing school be dismissed. The second involves intensive teacher training coupled with strong curriculum revision or a longer school day.[111] Due to its chronic low achievement, Oil City Middle School was listed as eligible for funding. Oil City Area School District did not apply for the grant.[112]

The Oil City Area School Board chose to not permit the Pennsylvania Department of Education Common Cents program access to the district records. The program called for the state to audit the district, at no cost to local taxpayers, to identify ways the district could save tax dollars.[113] After the review of the information, the district was not required to implement the recommended cost savings changes.

The Oil City Area School Board set the 2010-11 the property taxes were 16.6100 mills.[114] 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. Pennsylvania school district revenues are dominated by two main sources: 1) Property tax collections, which account for the vast majority (between 75-85%) of local revenues; and 2) Act 511 tax collections (Local Tax Enabling Act), which are around 15% of revenues for school districts.[115] Property taxes, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, apply only to real estate - land and buildings. The property tax is not levied on cars, business inventory, or other personal property. Certain types of property are exempt from property taxes, including: places of worship, places of burial, private social clubs, charitable and educational institutions and government property. Additionally, service related, disabled US military veterans may seek an exemption from paying property taxes. Pennsylvania school district revenues are dominated by two main sources: 1) Property tax collections, which account for the vast majority (between 75-85%) of local revenues; and 2) Act 511 tax collections, which are around 15% of revenues for school districts.[116]

• 2010-11 - 16.6100 mills [117]
• 2009-10 - 16.6100 mills [118]
• 2008-09 - 16.6100 mills [119]
• 2007-08 - 16.6100 mills

The Act 1 of 2006 Index regulates the rates at which each school district can raise property taxes in Pennsylvania. Districts are not authorized to raise taxes above that index unless they allow voters to vote by referendum, or the school board seeks one or more exceptions from the state's Department of Education. The base index for the 2011-2012 school year is 1.4 percent, but the Act 1 Index can be adjusted higher, depending on a number of factors, such as property values and the personal income of district residents. Act 1 included 10 exceptions, including: increasing pension costs, increases in special education costs, a catastrophe like a fire or flood, increase in health insurance costs for contracts in effect in 2006 or dwindling tax bases. The base index is the average of the percentage increase in the statewide average weekly wage, as determined by the PA Department of Labor and Industry, for the preceding calendar year and the percentage increase in the Employment Cost Index for Elementary and Secondary Schools, as determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the U.S. Department of Labor, for the previous 12-month period ending June 30. For a school district with a market value/personal income aid ratio (MV/PI AR) greater than 0.4000, its index equals the base index multiplied by the sum of .75 and its MV/PI AR for the current year.[120] In June 2011, the Pennsylvania General Assembly eliminated six of the ten the exceptions to the Act 1 Index.[121] The following exceptions were maintained: 1) costs to pay interest and principal on indebtedness incurred prior to September 4, 2004 for Act 72 schools and prior to June 27, 2006 for non-Act 72 schools; 2) costs to pay interest and principal on electoral debt; 3) costs incurred in providing special education programs and services (beyond what is already paid by the State); and 4) costs due to increases of more than the Index in the school's share of payments to PSERS (PA school employees pension fund) taking into account the state mandated PSERS contribution rate.[122][123]

The School District Adjusted Index for the Oil City Area School District 2006-2007 through 2010-2011.[124]

• 2006-07 - 5.9%, Base 3.9%
• 2007-08 - 5.2%, Base 3.4%
• 2008-09 - 6.7%, Base 4.4%
• 2009-10 - 6.3%, Base 4.1%
• 2010-11 - 4.4%, Base 2.9%
• 2011-12 - 2.1%, Base 1.4%
• 2012-13 - 2.6%, Base 1.7% [125]

For the 2011-12 school year the Oil City Area School Board did not apply for exceptions to exceed the Act 1 Index. For each annual school budget, the Oil City Area School Board has the option of adopting either 1) a resolution in January certifying they will not increase taxes above their index or 2) a preliminary budget in February. A school district adopting the resolution may not apply for referendum exceptions or ask voters for a tax increase above the inflation index. A specific timeline for these decisions is publisher each year by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.[126]

According to a state report, for the 2011-2012 school year budgets, 247 school districts adopted a resolution certifying that tax rates would not be increased above their index; 250 school districts adopted a preliminary budget. Of the 250 school districts that adopted a preliminary budget, 231 adopted real estate tax rates that exceeded their index. Tax rate increases in the other 19 school districts that adopted a preliminary budget did not exceed the school district's index. Of the districts who sought exceptions 221 used the pension costs exemption and 171 sought a Special Education costs exemption. Only 1 school district sought an exemption for Nonacademic School Construction Project, while 1 sought an exception for Electoral debt for school construction.[127] With the 2011 state education budget, the General Assembly eliminated most of the Act 1 exceptions leaving only special education costs and pension costs. The cost of future large construction projects will go to the voters for approval via ballot referendum.[128]

Oil City Area School Board did not apply for exceptions to exceed the Act 1 index for the budgets in 2009-10 or in 2010-11.[129] In the Spring of 2010, 135 Pennsylvania school boards asked to exceed their adjusted index. Approval was granted to 133 of them and 128 sought an exception for pension costs increases.[130]

In 2011, the Pennsylvania Department of Education announced the district's property tax relief from gambling would be $277 for each of the 3,836 approved properties.[131][132]

In 2009, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the Oil City Area School District was $274 per approved permanent primary residence. In the district, 3,878 property owners applied for the tax relief. This was the highest tax relief awarded in Venango County.[133] The tax relief was subtracted from the total annual school property on the individual's 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 and must be the primary residence of the owner. Farmers can qualify for both the homestead exemption and the farmstead exemption. The Pennsylvania Auditor General found that 73% of property owners applied for tax relief in Venango County.[134] Pennsylvania awarded the highest property tax relief to residents of the Chester-Upland School District in Delaware County at $632 per homestead and farmstead in 2010.[135] This was the second year Chester Upland School District was the top recipient.

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, consequently individuals who have income 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.[136]

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%).[137]