(File Photo)
Story by Frank Sparks, News/Program Director
(Beaver County, Pa.) The Beaver County Partnership along with John Hopkins University and the Community Catalyst Partners partnered for a study conducted by John Hopkins University that looked at what education will look like in Beaver County in 2030. The Beaver County Partnership, which was formed in 2016, started the research in 2018 and in 2020 they handed the study over to the researchers at John Hopkins University. Those results were released yesterday.
The study focused on 5 factors: Economic and job growth, desirable housing, quality of place, good government, and quality Education.
Steven Ross, Director of the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University headed up the study.
The results of the study showed that
• Enrollments in nearly all of the 14 school districts have declined; overall county population has declined over the past decade.
• Compared to the “benchmarking” communities examined, Beaver County had the lowest ratio of local to total funding.
• Compared to the four other PA districts, Beaver County also had the lowest proportion of total spending for instruction.
• Revenues increased less than expenditures for six districts.
• Clear inequities exist across districts in financial health.
The Community Perceptions about Beaver County said that
• Positive about the community as a safe and pleasant place to live.
• Citizens polled were Concerned about:
• The capacity of small school districts to provide cutting-edge and comprehensive programming.
• Inequities in educational opportunities across districts.
• Ability of BC to attract and keep younger families relative to wealthier neighboring counties.
• (From students) Insular environments at small schools, over-emphasis on athletics (football), lack of opportunity in BC.
Major Findings that could help the school districts now and in 2030.
• Strengthening School Districts by sharing resources. AKA Mergers
• Enhancing County Education
• Engaging the Community
The Beaver County Partnership will be holding 5 town hall meetings
The first in person town hall will be this Saturday at the Community College of Beaver County starting at 10:00 AM
The second is on Saturday 2/26/22 at the Beaver County YMCA in Rochester Twp. at 2 PM
Three zoom sessions will also be held on Thursday 2/17/22, Monday 2/21/22, and Wednesday 2/23/22 all at 6 PM .
You can view the full report as well as get a link for the Zoom meetings on the Beaver County Partnership Page. https://beavercountypartnership.com/