Salisbury-Elk Lick School District - Enrollment and Consolidation

Enrollment and Consolidation

Salisbury-Elk Lick School District is the second smallest school district in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, there are fewer than 250 students enrolled in K-12. The senior class of 2010 had 35 students. The class of 2011 has 28 members. Enrollment in Salisbury-Elk Lick School District is projected to continue to decline by 50 more students by 2015. The administrative infrastructure and mandate related costs per pupil are very high. With limited local resources, opportunities for students are limited.

A study was done in 2004, examining consolidating Salisbury-Elk Lick School District with neighboring Meyersdale Area School District. It found considerable savings would be achieved by both communities. Consolidation with Rockwood Area School District was also examined and would have achieved cost savings. The study noted that consolidation could significantly decrease administrative costs for both communities while improving offerings to students. Consolidation of school district administrations does not require the consolidation of schools. These savings could be redirected to improving lagging student achievement, to enriching the academic programs or to reducing property taxes.

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). As the enrollment declines, per pupil administrative costs of the schools will continue to rise.

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. 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.

A school district consolidation study was conducted by the Pennsylvania Economy League in 1994. It looked at a consolidation of Salisbury-Elk Lick with the neighboring Meyersdale Area School District. The study was performed at the districts' request. One finding from the study was that if the districts were merged in 1992-93, the local tax effort required of the merged district would have fallen in between the two districts. It was estimated that Salisbury's tax rate would decrease by 17 mills in the 1992-93 school year, and the Meyersdale's tax rate would increase by 8 mills in the 1992- 93 school year. The merger did not take place, despite Meyersdale's desire to proceed with it.