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Statistics

Here are some comparative statistics about the East Penn School District that you might find interesting.

Property Tax Rates • Per Pupil Spending • Funding Sources • Student Counts • Total Property Values

Property Tax Rates, Lehigh County School Districts

District Current
County Rank
(1=highest, 9=lowest) Millage Rates

2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08

Allentown City 4 48.082 45.592 42.942 42.942 42.942

Catasauqua Area 2 51.470 50.560 50.560 48.560 46.570

East Penn 7 46.150 45.320 43.640 42.270 40.490

Northern Lehigh 1 64.373 64.373 62.873 62.273 60.289

Northwestern Lehigh 3 50.660 50.660 49.410 47.410 45.070

Parkland 9 40.030 38.570 37.500 36.670 35.840

Salisbury Township 5 46.853 45.445 44.036 43.314 41.881

Southern Lehigh 8 45.550 45.300 43.800 43.800 42.600

Whitehall-Coplay 6 46.290 44.720 43.170 41.300 38.550

Source: East Penn School District Business Office, Lehigh County Assessment Records (http://www.lehighcounty.org)

Per Pupil Spending, 2009-10, Lehigh County School Districts

District Spending State Rank
(1=highest, 500=lowest) County Rank
(1=highest, 9=lowest)

Allentown City $11,111.97 453 9

Catasauqua Area $15,175.02 108 3

East Penn $12,966.12 271 7

Northern Lehigh $13,683.57 202 4

Northwestern Lehigh $13,420.87 223 5

Parkland $13,007.87 269 6

Salisbury Township $15,703.75 77 1

Southern Lehigh $15,531.51 86 2

Whitehall-Coplay $11,711.02 402 8

Statewide Statistics:

Median: $13,156.65 (East Penn is 1.4% below the statewide median in per pupil spending)
Mean: $13,673.91 (East Penn is 5.2% below the statewide mean in per pupil spending)
High: $26,570.76 (Lower Merion School District, Montgomery County)
Low: $4,478.95 (Bryn Athyn School District, Montgomery County; all schooling and educational services contracted out to other districts); next lowest is $9,578.76 (Valley View School District, Lackawanna County)

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education (http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/summaries_of_annual_financial_report_data/7673/afr_excel_data_files/509047)

Funding Sources, 2009-10, Lehigh County School Districts

District Local $ Local % State $ State % Federal $ Federal % Other $ Other % Total $

Allentown City $75,169,480 35.6% $112,333,948 53.2% $22,591,882 10.7% $1,150,000 0.5% $211,245,310

Catasauqua Area $17,686,375 69.3% $6,843,125 26.8% $939,230 3.7% $38,966 0.2% $25,507,697

East Penn $83,802,481 77.8% $21,769,011 20.2% $2,206,956 2.1% $272 0.0% $107,778,719

Northern Lehigh $16,237,961 57.8% $10,359,858 36.9% $1,376,797 4.9% $128,951 0.5% $28,103,566

Northwestern Lehigh $24,692,834 68.9% $10,154,175 28.3% $988,138 2.8% $3,675 0.0% $35,838,822

Parkland $102,722,273 81.3% $18,866,137 14.9% $4,411,700 3.5% $306,500 0.2% $126,306,610

Salisbury Township $22,447,240 79.0% $5,092,228 17.9% $865,828 3.1% $0.00 0.0% $28,405,297

Southern Lehigh $38,562,098 78.8% $9,146,267 18.7% $1,253,336 2.6% $0.00 0.0% $48,961,701

Whitehall-Coplay $36,694,997 70.8% $12,643,005 24.4% $2,465,076 4.8% $5,800 0.0% $51,808,877

State Funding (% of Total School District Revenues)

Overall: 35.6%
Median: 37.1%
High: 70.9% (Blacklick Valley School District, Cambria County)
Low: 10.0% (Lower Merion School District, Montgomery County)
East Penn: 20.2% (434^th of 500 school districts)

State Funding (Per Pupil)

Overall: $4,926.53
Median: $5,252.82
High: $13,905.27 (Duquesne City School District, Allegheny County) and $11,491.33 (Bryn Athyn School District, Montgomery County) (The top two districts are shown because of the large funding gap between them.)
Low: $1,828.88 (Derry Township School District, Dauphin County)
East Penn: $2,626.09 (462^nd of 500 school districts)

A sobering perspective: If East Penn received the median per pupil amount in state funding, real estate taxes could be cut by almost $21.8 million. That's equivalent to a 13.4 mill reduction in the property tax rate, or 29%. Because of the funding formula currently used by the state, East Penn taxpayers' sales and income taxes are heavily subsizing education in the rest of the state.

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education (http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/summaries_of_annual_financial_report_data/7673/afr_excel_data_files/509047)

Student Counts (Average Daily Membership), 2009-10, Lehigh County School Districts

District Student ADM % of County County Rank
(1=highest, 9=lowest) State Rank
(1=largest, 500=smallest)

Allentown City 19,137 36.5% 1 4

Catasauqua Area 1,679 3.2% 9 324

East Penn 8,290 15.8% 3 24

Northern Lehigh 2,000 3.8% 7 287

Northwestern Lehigh 2,416 4.6% 6 231

Parkland 9,555 18.2% 2 18

Salisbury Township 1,807 3.4% 8 306

Southern Lehigh 3,181 6.1% 5 173

Whitehall-Coplay 4,348 8.3% 4 103

Total 52,413 11 (of 67 counties in PA)

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education (http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/summaries_of_annual_financial_report_data/7673/afr_excel_data_files/509047)

Total Property Values, 2009, Lehigh County School Districts

District Total Value % of County County Rank
(1=highest, 9=lowest)

Allentown City $3,636,777,400 16.8% 3

Catasauqua Area $732,210,900 3.4% 8

East Penn $4,208,540,300 19.5% 2

Northern Lehigh $606,232,000 2.8% 9

Northwestern Lehigh $1,166,996,300 5.4% 6

Parkland $6,197,939,900 28.7% 1

Salisbury Township $1,051,765,600 4.9% 7

Southern Lehigh $2,109,706,400 9.8% 4

Whitehall-Coplay $1,893,641,400 8.8% 5

Total $21,603,810,200

Source: LCTI 2011-12 Budget (based on Lehigh County tax assessment records)

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This web site contains the personal opinions of Alan Earnshaw, not the official positions of the East Penn School Board or the East Penn School District.
© 2010 - 2012 Alan Earnshaw. All rights reserved.

Last updated: 19 October 2011