Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Pittsburgh School Enrolment Shrinks Abruptly
The morning paper brings news that Pittsburgh Public School enrolment has tumbled again, falling to 29,445 as of September 2006. In the budget for 2006, the district reported 32,529 students attending as of September 30, 2005. That’s a whopping drop of 3,084 or 9.5 percent from the number used for budgeting purposes.
Since 1998, enrollment in Pittsburgh schools (including Mt.Oliver, which is a very tiny fraction of the total) is down over 10,000 students or 25 percent while the City’s population is down by just under 10 percent. Obviously, a couple of very important things are happening. First, parents are taking children out of public schools and placing them in alternative education venues because of the poor quality of education and the lack of discipline in the learning environments prevalent in many City schools. Second, parents of school age children are leaving the City altogether. With losing nearly 4,000 people per year in Pittsburgh’s population, it is more than likely that a high percentage of people leaving are families with school age children who cannot afford private school tuition.
Bear in mind that Pittsburgh’s population to public school enrolment ratio is 10.6 to 1. Statewide the ratio is about 6 to 1. Thus, the burden to taxpayers to fund Pittsburgh’s schools should be much less than the state average. But it is not because of the nearly $18,000 per pupil the district spends on general operations that more than offsets the lower student to population ratio advantage the district should have.
Bad schools and high taxes; the perfect storm for driving people out of the City, especially those with children.
Since 1998, enrollment in Pittsburgh schools (including Mt.Oliver, which is a very tiny fraction of the total) is down over 10,000 students or 25 percent while the City’s population is down by just under 10 percent. Obviously, a couple of very important things are happening. First, parents are taking children out of public schools and placing them in alternative education venues because of the poor quality of education and the lack of discipline in the learning environments prevalent in many City schools. Second, parents of school age children are leaving the City altogether. With losing nearly 4,000 people per year in Pittsburgh’s population, it is more than likely that a high percentage of people leaving are families with school age children who cannot afford private school tuition.
Bear in mind that Pittsburgh’s population to public school enrolment ratio is 10.6 to 1. Statewide the ratio is about 6 to 1. Thus, the burden to taxpayers to fund Pittsburgh’s schools should be much less than the state average. But it is not because of the nearly $18,000 per pupil the district spends on general operations that more than offsets the lower student to population ratio advantage the district should have.
Bad schools and high taxes; the perfect storm for driving people out of the City, especially those with children.
