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

Property Tax RatesPer Pupil SpendingFunding SourcesStudent CountsTotal Property Values

Property Tax Rates, Lehigh County School Districts

DistrictCurrent
County Rank
(1=highest, 9=lowest)
Millage Rates
2016-172015-162014-152013-142012-132011-122010-112009-102008-092007-08
Allentown City218.328718.328718.328717.315549.33248.08245.59242.94242.94242.942
Catasauqua Area516.867616.310016.310016.310051.47051.47050.56050.56048.56046.570
East Penn417.697017.215016.664916.125946.75046.15045.32043.64042.27040.490
Northern Lehigh121.268821.147520.764420.168164.37364.37364.37362.87362.27360.289
Northwestern Lehigh715.963115.963115.963115.963150.66050.66050.66049.41047.41045.070
Parkland914.850014.450014.190013.930041.49040.03038.57037.50036.67035.840
Salisbury Township318.059617.705517.495616.920348.75446.85345.44544.03643.31441.881
Southern Lehigh815.620015.370015.370015.370046.05045.55045.30043.80043.80042.600
Whitehall-Coplay616.171915.852315.418614.925947.93046.29044.72043.17041.30038.550

Note: The 2013 property reassessment in Lehigh County changed the way property taxes are assessed. Homes are now assessed at much higher values, so millage rates were lowered to make the reassessment revenue-neutral. There was no tax increase in East Penn for 2013-14, though individual property owners may have had increases or decreases in their property taxes based on the change in value of their properties relative to the rest of the school district.

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


Per Pupil Spending, 2014-15, Lehigh County School Districts

DistrictSpendingState Rank
(1=highest, 500=lowest)
County Rank
(1=highest, 9=lowest)
Allentown City$12,827.134689
Catasauqua Area$16,490.111764
East Penn$15,141.152677
Northern Lehigh$16,608.421693
Northwestern Lehigh$16,165.941955
Parkland$15,704.372296
Salisbury Township$19,610.96661
Southern Lehigh$17,959.931102
Whitehall-Coplay$13,241.444398

Statewide Statistics:

  • Median: $15,414.22 (East Penn is 1.8% below the statewide median in per pupil spending)
  • Mean: $16,203.05 (East Penn is 6.6% below the statewide mean in per pupil spending)
  • High: $37,165.47 (Richland School District, Cambria County) and $28,718.47 (Schuylkill Valley School District, Berks County) (The top two districts are shown because of the large spending gap between them.)
  • Low: $10,686.31 (Juniata County School District, Juniata County)

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education (http://www.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20-%20Administrators/School%20Finances/Finances/AFR%20Data%20Summary/Pages/AFR-Data-Summary-Level.aspx)


Funding Sources, 2014-15, Lehigh County School Districts

DistrictLocal $Local %State $State %Federal $Federal %Other $Other %Total $
Allentown City$96,558,57137.5%$144,345,56456.0%$14,995,0015.8%$1,755,1670.7%$257,654,303
Catasauqua Area$18,254,34468.1%$7,999,56129.8%$533,9712.0%$16,5480.1%$26,804,425
East Penn$96,143,14476.8%$27,855,33422.2%$1,207,2351.0%$15,0670.0%$125,220,780
Northern Lehigh$17,178,96257.3%$12,108,77340.4%$533,1431.8%$177,2220.6%$29,998,100
Northwestern Lehigh$26,964,48070.0%$11,340,87929.5%$209,9630.6%$00.0%$38,515,322
Parkland$122,452,19681.6%$25,733,24517.1%$1,787,0291.2%$140,1160.1%$150,112,586
Salisbury Township$26,886,06978.2%$6,683,61719.5%$329,8461.0%$467,1921.4%$34,366,724
Southern Lehigh$44,895,04878.4%$11,997,05021.0%$267,1360.5%$115,0000.2%$57,274,233
Whitehall-Coplay$43,215,78372.2%$15,812,66626.4%$858,5571.4%$4,5710.0%$59,891,577

State Funding (% of Total School District Revenues)

  • Overall: 36.3%
  • Median: 41.4%
  • High: 77.1% (Blacklick Valley School District, Cambria County)
  • Low: 1.7% (Bryn Athyn School District, Montgomery County)
  • East Penn: 22.2% (424th of 500 school districts)
State Funding (Per Pupil)
  • Overall: $5.802.18 (down from $4,926.53 in 2009-10)
  • Median: $5,194.54 (down from $5,252.82 in 2009-10)
  • High: $17,329.33 (Duquesne City School District, Allegheny County) and $14,129.81 (Harmony Area School District, Clearfield County) (The top two districts are shown because of the large funding gap between them.)
  • Low: $432.66 (Bryn Athyn School District, Montgomery County) and $2,522.87 (Conestoga Valley School District, Lancaster County) (The top two districts are shown because of the large funding gap between them.)
  • East Penn: $3,316.57 (461st 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 $20.9 million, or nearly 22%. Because of the funding allocation 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.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20-%20Administrators/School%20Finances/Finances/AFR%20Data%20Summary/Pages/AFR-Data-Summary-Level.aspx)


Student Counts (Average Daily Membership), 2014-15, Lehigh County School Districts

DistrictStudent ADM% of CountyCounty Rank
(1=highest, 9=lowest)
State Rank
(1=largest, 500=smallest)
Allentown City19,72537.6%13
Catasauqua Area1,5903.0%9323
East Penn8,39916.0%325
Northern Lehigh1,7093.3%7310
Northwestern Lehigh2,3034.4%6229
Parkland9,39917.9%220
Salisbury Township1,6423.1%8316
Southern Lehigh3,2246.2%5159
Whitehall-Coplay4,4368.5%496
Total52,426  10 (of 67 counties in PA)

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Education (http://www.education.pa.gov/Teachers%20-%20Administrators/School%20Finances/Finances/AFR%20Data%20Summary/Pages/AFR-Data-Summary-Level.aspx)


Total Property Values, 2016, Lehigh County School Districts

DistrictTotal Value% of CountyCounty Rank
(1=highest, 9=lowest)
Allentown City$4,257,813,00017.2%3
Catasauqua Area$698,192,7902.8%8
East Penn$4,733,941,52919.1%2
Northern Lehigh$682,059,2042.8%9
Northwestern Lehigh$1,391,109,7065.6%6
Parkland$7,321,549,38229.6%1
Salisbury Township$1,178,658,4854.8%7
Southern Lehigh$2,450,391,0929.9%4
Whitehall-Coplay$2,059,507,7158.3%5
Total$24,773,222,903  

Source: Lehigh Carbon Community College 2017-18 Budget Book

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Last updated: 2 January 2017