The Herald, Sharon, PA Published Monday, December 8, 2003

Child
poverty
rate
declining


May not be good news for schools

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The Associated Press

Even though Farrell Area School District relies more heavily on Harrisburg than on Washington for its education funding, superintendent Richard Rubano Jr. says federal money is vital for helping its neediest students meet academic standards.

Rubano fears that 2000 census figures showing a shrinking number of school-age children living in poverty could mean his schools receive less federal funding.

The U.S. Census Bureau's annual estimates of poverty among children 5 to 17 years old are used to determine how funds from the federal Title I program for poor students are distributed among the nation's 14,000 school districts. Pennsylvania districts received about $415.5 million in Title I money for the current school year, according to the state Education Department.

"I would not want to see our dollars decrease with the poverty level we have. That money is extremely important for our programming," Rubano said. "We have literacy programs at the elementary school, and we've reduced classes sizes. We're seeing tremendous results."

Pennsylvania had 234,433 school-age children living in poverty in 2000, a 30 percent decline from 332,838 impoverished pupils in 1995, according to the census estimates. During the same period, the total number of children in that age group increased 2.4 percent, from more than 2.1 million to just under 2.2 million.

State officials will be closely watching what happens with Title I funding for the 2004-05 school year, and they expect the state may have to compensate for any decline in federal aid, Education Department spokesman Brian Christopher said.

Right now, leaders of the state Legislature and Gov. Ed Rendell are still debating how much additional state education money to spend in the current school year to help districts comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014.

"Students are going to need services and resources, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure they have what they need," Christopher said.

Farrell had the highest estimated child poverty rate of Pennsylvania's 501 districts, 34 percent. The district had 415 poor children in 2000.

Conversely, Peters Township School District in Washington County had the lowest poverty rate, 0.4 percent.

Although Philadelphia School District -- the state's largest district -- had the highest number of poor children, nearly 59,800, its 21.4 percent poverty rate is exceeded by 24 other districts. Sharon City School District is the 24th, with a 21.5 percent rate.

Philadelphia schools received $116 million in Title I money for the 2002-03 school year.

Philadelphia's numbers reflect a 40 percent decline in the poverty rate between 1995 and 2002, but schools chief Paul Vallas said that factors such as nationwide trends would influence whether the district receives more or less funding.

"If the poverty rate across the country is rising, there is going to be an adverse impact, but if what's happening in Pennsylvania mirrors the trends in other states, we should be OK," he said.

Some school officials say their own calculations demonstrate poverty levels that are far greater than the census estimates. Harrisburg School District Superintendent Gerald Kohn said poverty in the capital city's schools exceeds 90 percent, based on the number of students who take advantage of federal free and reduced lunch programs -- the census bureau estimated a 26 percent poverty rate.

"I think it's exacerbated by the fact that not all of the school-age children who live in the district attend public schools," Kohn said.

Sharon City Schools Superintendent Dr. Donna A. DeBonis said that according to the district's free and reduced lunch program there are buildings in the district where 80 percent of the student body is impoverished.

"The 2000 census figure of 21.5 percent is significantly lower that what local data indicates. Any reduction in Title I funding will negatively impact programming for not only the neediest but also the most at-risk students," Dr. DeBonis said.

Paul Siegel, a census bureau statistician, noted that the agency's estimates are based in part on families whose incomes are at or below the federal poverty line, while eligibility for free and reduced lunches is extended to families at 180 percent of the income threshold.

Harrisburg received about $7 million in Title I funds, most of which is used for reading programs, for the current school year, Kohn said. Although total federal aid accounts for only 9 percent of the district's total school funding, it is still a critical piece of Harrisburg's budget, he said.

"This is the money we are now supposed to use to meet the extraordinarily higher requirements of No Child Left Behind," he said.

Herald staff contributed to this story.

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