Northern Bedford County School District


The Northern Bedford County School District is a public school district serving parts of Bedford County, Pennsylvania. The boroughs of Hopewell and Woodbury and the townships of Bloomfield, Hopewell, Woodbury, and South Woodbury are located within district boundaries. It encompasses approximately 112 square miles. According to 2000 federal census data, it serves a resident population of 6,556. According to District officials, in school year 2007–08 the Northern Bedford County School District provided basic educational services to 1,244 pupils through the employment of 89 teachers, 43 full-time and part-time support personnel, and 11 administrators.

Schools

The School District was established in 1957 with its first graduating class in 1958. The present facility opened in 1963 as Northern Bedford County High School as the merger effort of Replogle, Smith, and Woodbury High Schools. A Vocational Building with a greenhouse was added in 1976, with a classroom addition added the next year. The current elementary school was constructed in the early 1990s, which eliminated the use of the former three elementary school buildings.

Academic achievement

The Northern Bedford County School District was ranked 323rd out of 498 Pennsylvania school districts, in 2010, by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on student academic performance on four years of PSSA results in: reading, writing, mathematics and two years of science.
In 2009, the academic achievement, of the students in the Northern Bedford County School District, was in the 27th percentile among all 500 Pennsylvania school districts Scale

Graduation rate

In 2010, the attendance rate was 95%.
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The Northern Bedford County School Board has determined that a student must earn 28 credits to graduate, including: 4 credits of English, 7 credits of Math and Science – 3 in each and 1 credit in either, 3 credits Social Studies, 2 credits Arts/Humanities, 9 credits electives, 2 credits physical education, 0.5 credits health and 0.5 credit for the graduation project.
By law, all Pennsylvania secondary 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. At Northern Bedford County High School students are required to complete a 3-page written report, a log or journal that shows 40 hours of work on the project and an oral presentation.
By Pennsylvania School Board regulations, for the graduating classes of 2015 and 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.
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According to a Pennsylvania Department of Education study released in January 2009, 20% of Northern Bedford County High School graduates required remediation in mathematics and or reading before they were prepared to take college level courses in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education or community colleges. Less than 66% of Pennsylvania high school graduates, who enroll in a four-year college in Pennsylvania, will earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Among Pennsylvania high school graduates pursuing an associate degree, only one in three graduate in three years. Per the Pennsylvania Department of Education, one in three recent high school graduates who attend Pennsylvania's public universities and community colleges takes at least one remedial course in math, reading or English.

Dual enrollment

The Northern Bedford County 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 courses count towards high school graduation requirements and towards earning a college degree. 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. Under the Pennsylvania Transfer and Articulation Agreement, many Pennsylvania colleges and universities accept these credits for students who transfer to their institutions. 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.
In 2010, the district received $28,655 in a state grant to be used assist students with tuition, fees and books.

Middle school

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Northern Bedford County School District provides a Pre-Kindergarten program for three- and four-year-old children. Five half day sessions are taught five days per week. The school district provides transportation for students. Students must be three years old by September 1 to be enrolled in this taxpayer funded preschool program.

Special education

In December 2009, the district administration reported that 135 pupils or 11.5% of the district's pupils received Special Education services.
The District engages in identification procedures to ensure that eligible students receive an appropriate educational program consisting of special education and related services, individualized to meet student needs. At no cost to the parents, these services are provided in compliance with state and federal law; and are reasonably calculated to yield meaningful educational benefit and student progress. To identify students who may be eligible for special education, various screening activities are conducted on an ongoing basis. These screening activities include: review of group-based data ; hearing, vision, motor, and speech/language screening; and review by the Instructional Support Team or Student Assistance Team. When screening results suggest that the student may be eligible, the District seeks parental consent to conduct a multidisciplinary evaluation. Parents who suspect their child is eligible may verbally request a multidisciplinary evaluation from a professional employee of the District or contact the Supervisor of Special Education.
In 2010, the state of Pennsylvania provided $1,026,815,000 for Special Education services. The funds were distributed to districts based on a state policy which estimates that 16% of the district's pupils are receiving special education services. This funding is in addition to the state's basic education per pupil funding, as well as, all other state and federal funding.
Northern Bedford County School District received a $604,975 supplement for special education services in 2010.

Gifted education

The District Administration reported that 8 students were gifted in 2009. By law, the district must provide mentally gifted programs at all grade levels. Students identified as gifted attending the High School have access to a dual enrollment program 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.

Bullying policy

The Northern Bedford County School District administration reported there were 1 incidents of bullying in the district in 2009.
The Northern Bedford County School Board approved a district antibully policy in October 2008. All Pennsylvania schools are required to have an anti-bullying policy incorporated into their Code of Student Conduct. The policy must identify disciplinary actions for bullying and designate a school staff person to receive complaints of bullying. The policy must be available on the school's website and posted in every classroom. All Pennsylvania public schools must provide a copy of its anti-bullying policy to the Office for Safe Schools every year, and shall review their policy every three years. Additionally, the district must conduct an annual review of that policy with students. The Center for Schools and Communities works in partnership with the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime & Delinquency and the Pennsylvania Department of Education to assist schools and communities as they research, select and implement bullying prevention programs and initiatives.
Education standards relating to student safety and antiharassment programs are described in the 10.3. Safety and Injury Prevention in the Pennsylvania Academic Standards for Health, Safety and Physical Education.

Budget

In 2009, the district reports employing over 90 teachers with a starting salary of $33,911 for 185 days work. The average teacher salary was $47,829 while the maximum salary is $96,200. In Pennsylvania, the average teacher salary for Pennsylvania's 124,100 public school teachers was $54,977 in 2008. As of 2007, Pennsylvania ranked in the top 10 states in average teacher salaries. When adjusted for cost of living Pennsylvania ranked fourth in the nation for teacher compensation. Additionally, Northern Bedford County School District teachers receive a defined benefit pension, health insurance, retirement health insurance, 1 emergency day with superintendent approval, paid bereavement leave, professional development reimbursement, 3 paid personal days, 10 sick days, accumulated sick days death benefit, life insurance and other benefits. Department Heads and lead teachers receive extra compensation beyond their salary. According to State Rep. Glen Grell, a trustee of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System Board, a 40-year educator can retire with a pension equal to 100 percent of their final salary.
In 2007, the district employed 82 teachers. The average teacher salary in the district was $45,173 for 182 school days worked.
Northern Bedford County School District administrative costs per pupil in 2008 was $818.92 per pupil. The district is ranked 174th out of 500 in Pennsylvania for administrative spending. The lowest administrative cost per pupil in Pennsylvania was $398 per pupil.
In 2008, Northern Bedford County School District reported spending $9,828 per pupil. This ranked 486th in the commonwealth.
; Reserves
In 2009, the district reported a $1,329,981 in a reserved-undesignated fund balance. The undesignated fund balance was reported as zero.
In December 2009, the Pennsylvania Auditor General conducted a performance audit of the district. Findings were reported to the administration and school board.
The district is funded by a combination of: a local income tax, a property tax, a real estate transfer tax, coupled with substantial funding from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the federal government. Grants can provide an opportunity to supplement school funding without raising local taxes. In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, pension and Social Security income are exempted from state personal income tax and local earned income tax regardless of the individual's wealth.

State basic education funding

For 2010–11 the Northern Bedford County School District received a 2.96% increase in state Basic Education Funding resulting in a $5,936,217 payment. The highest increase in BEF in Bedford County was awarded to Bedford Area School District a 6.25% increase. 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 receives is determined by the Governor and the Secretary of Education through the allocation set in the state budget proposal made in February each year.
In the 2009–2010 budget year the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania provided a 3.40% increase in Basic Education funding for a total of $5,765,734. The state Basic Education funding to the district in 2008–09 was $5,575,323. 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. Everett Area School District received the highest increase in Bedford County for the 2009–10 school year. Among the 500 school districts in Pennsylvania, Muhlenberg School District in Berks County received the highest with a 22.31% increase in funding.
According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, 408 district students received free or reduced-price lunches due to low family income in the 2007–2008 school year.

Accountability Block Grants

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 Northern Bedford County School District applied for and received $208,814 in addition to all other state and federal funding. The district used the funding to provide full-day kindergarten for the 7th year.

Classrooms for the Future grant

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 and paid for teacher training to optimize the computers use. The program was funded from 2006–2009. Northern Bedford County School District did not apply for funding in 2006–07 nor In 2007–08. For the 2008–09 school year, the district received $81,418. Of the 501 public school districts in Pennsylvania, 447 of them received Classrooms for the Future grant awards.

Federal Stimulus grant

The district received an extra $323,000 in ARRA – Federal Stimulus money to be used in specific programs like special education and meeting the academic needs of low-income students. The funding is for the 2009–10 and 2010–11 school years.

Race to the Top grant

School district officials applied to participate in the Race to the Top federal grant which would have brought the district over hundreds of thousands in additional federal dollars for improving student academic achievement. Participation required the administration, the school board and the local teachers' union to sign an agreement to prioritize improving student academic success. In Pennsylvania, 120 public school districts and 56 charter schools agreed to participate. 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.

Common Cents state initiative

The Northern Bedford County School Board did not participate in the Pennsylvania Department of Education Common Cents program. 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. After the review of the information, the district was not required to implement the recommended cost savings changes.

Real estate taxes

The school board set property tax rates in 2010–2011 at 9.7162 mills. A reassessment of Bedford County real estate values lead to the sharp decline. The revenue to the school district is neutral. 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 Act 511 tax collections, which are around 15% of revenues for school districts.
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 they seek an exception from the state 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 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.
The School District Adjusted Index for the Northern Bedford County School District 2006–2007 through 2010–2011.
The Northern Bedford County School Board did not apply for exceptions to exceed the Act 1 index for the budgets in 2009–10 and 2010–11. 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.

Property tax relief

In 2010, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the Northern Bedford County School District was $199 per approved permanent primary residence. In the district, 1,632 property owners applied for the tax relief. 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. 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. This was the second year they were 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 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.
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 and 12th in the country in terms of property taxes as a percentage of income.

Enrollment and Consolidation

The district's enrollment is in the bottom 15% in Pennsylvania. Enrollment is projected, by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, to decline through 2019.
A study was done in 2004, examining consolidating neighboring school districts. It found that districts of approximately 3000 pupils were the most efficient. Estimated savings were estimated to be from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars when neighboring, low enrollment school districts consolidated. The study noted that consolidation could significantly decrease administrative costs for both communities while improving offerings to students. It noted that consolidation of school district administrations does not require the consolidation of schools.
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. Statewide, there are 187 districts that are projected to have an enrollment decline of 15 percent or greater. Geographically, these districts are clustered in western Pennsylvania and in the state’s northern tier.
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.

Extracurriculars

The district offers a variety of clubs, activities and sports. Eligibility to participate is set by school board policies. If a student's cumulative or marking period grade drops below passing in more than one subject, the student is ineligible for participation in interscholastic athletic activities for a period of seven calendar days.
By Pennsylvania law, all K-12 students in the district, including those who attend a private nonpublic school, cyber charter school, charter school and those homeschooled, are eligible to participate in the extracurricular programs, including all athletics. They must meet the same eligibility rules as the students enrolled in the district's schools.

Athletics

The district is served by the Intermediate Unit 8 which provides schools with training services, special education services and curriculum development assistance. It also provides an online arts education program called Building Bridging through the Arts.