Fort Cherry School District - Enrollment and Consolidation

Enrollment and Consolidation

In a budget presentation in June 2010, the school administration noted a 300 student enrollment decline in 2000. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, there are fewer than 1155 students enrolled in Fort Cherry School District, K-12, in 2010. There were 97 students in the Class of 2010. The district's class of 2009 had 102 students while the Class of 2005 had 97 students. Enrollment in Fort Cherry School District has been projected, by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, to continue to decline to 1000 pupils K-12 total enrollment, by 2020.

Pennsylvania is experiencing a decline in population. Deaths have outnumbered births for a decade in many counties. More than 40 percent of elementary schools and more than 60 percent of secondary schools in western Pennsylvania have been experiencing significant enrollment decreases (15 percent or greater).

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. This results in excessive school administration bureaucracy and not enough course diversity. Reynolds School District administrative costs per pupil in 2008 was $905.90 per pupil. This is ranked 102nd among in the 500 school districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil. In a survey of superintendents of the small districts, 42% stated that they thought consolidation would save money without closing any schools.

A Standard and Poors study found that an optimal school district size, to conserve administrative costs, was at least 3000 pupils. The study examined consolidation of Fort Cherry School District with Chartiers-Houston School District. It found significant savings were achievable including the elimination of redundant administration salaries. According to a proposal made in 2009, by Governor Edward G. Rendell, the excessive administrative overhead dollars could be redirected to improve lagging academic achievement, to enrich the academic programs or to substantially reduce property taxes. Consolidation of two districts' central administrations into one would not require the closing of any local schools.

In March 2011, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants Fiscal Responsibility Task Force released a report which found that consolidating school district administrations with one neighboring district, would save the Commonwealth $1.2 billion dollars without forcing the consolidation of any school buildings. The study noted that while the best school districts spent 4% of the annual budget on administration, others spend over 15% on administration.