North Clarion County School District - Enrollment

Enrollment

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, there are 611 students enrolled in K-12. There were 92 students in the Class of 2009. The senior class of 2010 has 64 students. Enrollment in North Clarion County School District is projected to continue to sharply decline through 2019. The administrative infrastructure costs per pupil are high. With limited resources, opportunities for students are limited. Consolidation of the administrations 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. Consolidation of multiple central administrations into one would not necessitate the closing of any schools. A new district composed of Clarion Area School District, Clarion-Limestone Area School District and North Clarion County School District would have a total student population of 2500 with declining enrollment projected across the 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.