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Statistics

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% (424^th 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 (461^st 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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This web site contains the personal opinions of Alan Earnshaw, not the official positions of the East Penn School Board or the East Penn School District.
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Last updated: 2 January 2017