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 |
2016-17 | 2015-16 | 2014-15 | 2013-14 | 2012-13 | 2011-12 | 2010-11 | 2009-10 | 2008-09 | 2007-08 |
Allentown City | 2 | 18.3287 | 18.3287 | 18.3287 | 17.3155 | 49.332 | 48.082 | 45.592 | 42.942 | 42.942 | 42.942 |
Catasauqua Area | 5 | 16.8676 | 16.3100 | 16.3100 | 16.3100 | 51.470 | 51.470 | 50.560 | 50.560 | 48.560 | 46.570 |
East Penn | 4 | 17.6970 | 17.2150 | 16.6649 | 16.1259 | 46.750 | 46.150 | 45.320 | 43.640 | 42.270 | 40.490 |
Northern Lehigh | 1 | 21.2688 | 21.1475 | 20.7644 | 20.1681 | 64.373 | 64.373 | 64.373 | 62.873 | 62.273 | 60.289 |
Northwestern Lehigh | 7 | 15.9631 | 15.9631 | 15.9631 | 15.9631 | 50.660 | 50.660 | 50.660 | 49.410 | 47.410 | 45.070 |
Parkland | 9 | 14.8500 | 14.4500 | 14.1900 | 13.9300 | 41.490 | 40.030 | 38.570 | 37.500 | 36.670 | 35.840 |
Salisbury Township | 3 | 18.0596 | 17.7055 | 17.4956 | 16.9203 | 48.754 | 46.853 | 45.445 | 44.036 | 43.314 | 41.881 |
Southern Lehigh | 8 | 15.6200 | 15.3700 | 15.3700 | 15.3700 | 46.050 | 45.550 | 45.300 | 43.800 | 43.800 | 42.600 |
Whitehall-Coplay | 6 | 16.1719 | 15.8523 | 15.4186 | 14.9259 | 47.930 | 46.290 | 44.720 | 43.170 | 41.300 | 38.550 |
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
District | Spending | State Rank (1=highest, 500=lowest) | County Rank (1=highest, 9=lowest) |
Allentown City | $12,827.13 | 468 | 9 |
Catasauqua Area | $16,490.11 | 176 | 4 |
East Penn | $15,141.15 | 267 | 7 |
Northern Lehigh | $16,608.42 | 169 | 3 |
Northwestern Lehigh | $16,165.94 | 195 | 5 |
Parkland | $15,704.37 | 229 | 6 |
Salisbury Township | $19,610.96 | 66 | 1 |
Southern Lehigh | $17,959.93 | 110 | 2 |
Whitehall-Coplay | $13,241.44 | 439 | 8 |
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
District | Local $ | Local % | State $ | State % | Federal $ | Federal % | Other $ | Other % | Total $ |
Allentown City | $96,558,571 | 37.5% | $144,345,564 | 56.0% | $14,995,001 | 5.8% | $1,755,167 | 0.7% | $257,654,303 |
Catasauqua Area | $18,254,344 | 68.1% | $7,999,561 | 29.8% | $533,971 | 2.0% | $16,548 | 0.1% | $26,804,425 |
East Penn | $96,143,144 | 76.8% | $27,855,334 | 22.2% | $1,207,235 | 1.0% | $15,067 | 0.0% | $125,220,780 |
Northern Lehigh | $17,178,962 | 57.3% | $12,108,773 | 40.4% | $533,143 | 1.8% | $177,222 | 0.6% | $29,998,100 |
Northwestern Lehigh | $26,964,480 | 70.0% | $11,340,879 | 29.5% | $209,963 | 0.6% | $0 | 0.0% | $38,515,322 |
Parkland | $122,452,196 | 81.6% | $25,733,245 | 17.1% | $1,787,029 | 1.2% | $140,116 | 0.1% | $150,112,586 |
Salisbury Township | $26,886,069 | 78.2% | $6,683,617 | 19.5% | $329,846 | 1.0% | $467,192 | 1.4% | $34,366,724 |
Southern Lehigh | $44,895,048 | 78.4% | $11,997,050 | 21.0% | $267,136 | 0.5% | $115,000 | 0.2% | $57,274,233 |
Whitehall-Coplay | $43,215,783 | 72.2% | $15,812,666 | 26.4% | $858,557 | 1.4% | $4,571 | 0.0% | $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
District | Student ADM | % of County | County Rank (1=highest, 9=lowest) | State Rank (1=largest, 500=smallest) |
Allentown City | 19,725 | 37.6% | 1 | 3 |
Catasauqua Area | 1,590 | 3.0% | 9 | 323 |
East Penn | 8,399 | 16.0% | 3 | 25 |
Northern Lehigh | 1,709 | 3.3% | 7 | 310 |
Northwestern Lehigh | 2,303 | 4.4% | 6 | 229 |
Parkland | 9,399 | 17.9% | 2 | 20 |
Salisbury Township | 1,642 | 3.1% | 8 | 316 |
Southern Lehigh | 3,224 | 6.2% | 5 | 159 |
Whitehall-Coplay | 4,436 | 8.5% | 4 | 96 |
Total | 52,426 | | | 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
District | Total Value | % of County | County Rank (1=highest, 9=lowest) |
Allentown City | $4,257,813,000 | 17.2% | 3 |
Catasauqua Area | $698,192,790 | 2.8% | 8 |
East Penn | $4,733,941,529 | 19.1% | 2 |
Northern Lehigh | $682,059,204 | 2.8% | 9 |
Northwestern Lehigh | $1,391,109,706 | 5.6% | 6 |
Parkland | $7,321,549,382 | 29.6% | 1 |
Salisbury Township | $1,178,658,485 | 4.8% | 7 |
Southern Lehigh | $2,450,391,092 | 9.9% | 4 |
Whitehall-Coplay | $2,059,507,715 | 8.3% | 5 |
Total | $24,773,222,903 | | |
Source: Lehigh Carbon Community College 2017-18 Budget Book
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