Kane Area School District - Demographics

Demographics

With the main offices located in the borough of Kane, PA the Kane Area School District has three schools currently open and one school that recently closed. They are the Kane Area High School, which is for Grades 9-12. It is located at 300 Hemlock Ave. There is also a middle school for Grades 6-8. It is located at 400 W Hemlock Ave. The one active elementary school (grades K-5) is Chestnut Street Elementary School on Chestnut Street. The Mount Jewett Elementary School closed its doors at the end of the 2007 school year. Only about 65 students attended the satellite school located 15 miles (24 km) east on Highway 6 in Mount Jewett.

The most recent demographics reported by the Kane Area School District were printed in the Kane Republican newspaper. It showed the student population breakdown by grade:

• Kindergarten: 110 students—61 boys and 49 girls

• First grade: 81 students—38 boys and 43 girls

• Second grade: 94 students—52 boys and 40 girls

• Third grade: 76 students—40 boys and 36 girls

• Fourth grade: 101 students—51 boys and 50 girls

• Fifth grade: 86 students—40 boys and 46 girls

• Sixth grade: 107 students—62 boys and 45 girls

• Seventh grade: 94 students—48 boys and 46 girls

• Eighth grade: 98 students—56 boys and 42 girls

• Freshman Class: 84 students—38 boys and 46 girls

• Sophomore Class: 99 students—56 boys and 43 girls

• Junior Class: 117 students—51 boys and 56 girls

• Senior Class: 96 students—49 boys and 47 girls

By school, the population is:

• Chestnut Street Elementary School: 548 students—284 boys and 264 girls
• Kane Middle School: 299 students—166 boys and 133 girls
• Kane Area High School: 386 students—194 boys and 192 girls

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, there are 1168 students enrolled in K-12 in 2009. There were 101 students in the Class of 2009. The senior class of 2010 has 83 students. Enrollment in Kane Area School District is projected to continue to sharply decline by 200 students by 2016.

Kane Area School District administrative costs in 2008 was $1062 per pupil. The district ranked 50th out of 500 Pennsylvania school districts in administrative spending. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil. In a Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee study on school consolidation, 63% of the superintendents that responded expressed agreement that consolidation with another district could help them provide additional academic enrichment opportunities for their students. Consolidation of the administration with adjacent school districts would achieve substantial administrative cost savings for people in both communities. These excessive administrative overhead dollars could be redirected to improve lagging academic achievement, to enrich the academic programs or to substantially reduce property taxes. One proposal is to disband the Kane Area School District. Residents in each township would decide through referendum, which school district to join in their county. Mount Jewett borough would be integrated into the Smethport Area School District.

Over the next 10 years, rural Pennsylvania school enrollment is projected to decrease 8 percent. The most significant enrollment decline is projected to be in western Pennsylvania, where rural school districts may have a 16 percent decline. More than 40 percent of elementary schools and more than 60 percent of secondary schools in western Pennsylvania are projected to experience 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. In a survey of 88 superintendents of small districts, 42% of the 49 respondents stated that they thought consolidation would save money without closing any schools.