Connellsville Area School District
Encyclopedia
The Connellsville Area School District covers the City of Connellsville
Connellsville, Pennsylvania
Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, USA, 57 miles southeast of Pittsburgh on the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh Metro Area. In 1890, 5,629 people lived in Connellsville, which was a borough at that time...

, the Boroughs of Dawson
Dawson, Pennsylvania
Dawson is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 451 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dawson is located at ....

, Dunbar
Dunbar, Pennsylvania
Dunbar is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,219 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dunbar is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all of it land....

, Ohiopyle
Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania
Ohiopyle is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 77 at the 2000 census. While Ohiopyle has a tiny year-round population, it is often filled with tourists on the weekend, who come take advantage of outdoor recreation...

, Seven Springs
Seven Springs, Pennsylvania
Seven Springs is a borough in Somerset and Fayette Counties, Pennsylvania. The Somerset County portion of the borough is part of the Johnstown Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Fayette County portion is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 127 at the 2000...

, South Connellsville
South Connellsville, Pennsylvania
South Connellsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,281 at the 2000 census.-Geography:South Connellsville is located at ....

 and Vanderbilt
Vanderbilt, Pennsylvania
Vanderbilt is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 553 at the 2000 census. The town is named for the railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt...

 and Bullskin Township, Connellsville Township, Dunbar Township, Saltlick Township, Springfield Township
Springfield Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Springfield Township is a township in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,111 at the 2000 census. The Connellsville Area School District serves the township....

 and Stewart Township in Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County, Pennsylvania
Fayette County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the2010 census, the population was 136,606. The county is part of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area....

.

Senior High Schools

  • Connellsville Area Senior High School
    Connellsville Area Senior High School
    Connellsville Area High School is a public high school, located in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. It is operated by the Connellsville Area School District. The school has a census of approximately 1325 of students in grades 10-12.-School history:...

    is located on Falcon Drive in the city limits of Connellsville. The school was built in 1970 and has not been renovated since. About 1325 students in grades 10-12 attend CASHS.

  • Connellsville Area Career & Technology Center
    Connellsville Area Career and Technology Center
    - About :Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center is a comprehensive Vocational-Technical School, in the Connellsville Area School District. The School is located above the Connellsville Area Senior High School.CACTC serves grades 11-12 Full-Time with core classes held at the school...

    is located above the high school, and was built in 1972. The center serves about 500 students in grades 10-12 and about 400 students from the two Junior High Schools, who attend the program for a half-a-day in exploratory courses. CACTC was renovated during the 2008-09 school term

Junior High Schools

There are two rivalry junior high schools in the district,which holds students in grades 7-9.
  • Junior High East is located on Locust Street Extension in Connellsville, PA. The school was constructed in 1956 as Connellsville Joint High School, when the district was formed in 1966, the name was changed to Connellsville Area High School until the present school was built, then it became a Junior High School. There was extensive renovations and additions to the school in 1998. About 700 students attend this school.

  • Junior High West is located on Falls Avenue in Connellsville, PA. The former school at this site was renovated and the added 1960 section is all that stays of the former Dunbar Township High School days. The former school was torn down and the 1960 section was renovated and a new building was built in 1999. West is home to about 600 pupils.

Elementary Schools

There are eight elementary schools in the district, all facilitate classes for grades K-6.
  • Bullskin Township Elementary School is located on Pleasant Valley Road (State Route 982) in Connellsville, PA, and was built in 1956. The last renovation was in 1998, when also a 4000 sq ft (371.6 m²). addition was added to the structure. About 450 students attend school here.

  • Clifford N. Pritts Elementary School is located on Indian Creek Valley Road (State Routes 381/711) in Melcroft, PA, and was built in 1968. There are about 300 students attending this faciltiy.

  • Connellsville Township Elementary School is located on Rock Ridge Road in Connellsville, PA. The school was built in the late 1960s and also houses the district's administration offices. The student census is around 175.

  • Dunbar Borough Elementary School is located off of Pechin Road in Dunbar, PA. The school was built in 1974 and has about 175 students.

  • Dunbar Township Elementary School is located on Ridge Boulevard near Connellsville, PA. The school holds a census of about 600 and was built in 1966.

  • South Side Elementary School is located on Race Street in Connellsville, PA and was built in 1965. There are about 325 pupils on the SSE Campus

  • Springfield Township Elementary School was built in 2004 and is located on School House Lane in Normalville, PA.

  • Zachariah Connell Elementary School is located on Park Street in Connellsville, PA was opened in 1967 and has a census of about 400.


District enrollment is 5568.

Academic Achievement

Connellsville School District was ranked 451st out of 498 Pennsylvania school districts in 2010 by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The ranking was based on student academic performance based on the PSSA
Pennsylvania System of School Assessment
The Pennsylvania System of School Assessment is a standardized test administered to public schools in the state of Pennsylvania. Students in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11 are assessed in reading skills and mathematics. Students in grades 5, 8, and 11 are assessed in writing skills...

s for: reading, writing, math and two years of science.
  • 2009 - 437th
  • 2008 - 447th
  • 2007 - 442nd out of 501 Pennsylvania school districts.

High School Reading, Math, Science PSSA Results

11th Grade Reading

2009 - 60% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 65% of 11th graders on grade level.

2008 - 69%, State - 65%

2007 - 66%, State - 65%

11th Grade Math:

2009 - 44% on grade level. In Pennsylvania, 56% of 11th graders are on grade level.

2008 - 59%, State - 56%

2007 - 50%, State - 53%

11th Grade Science:

2009 - 33% on grade level. State - 40% of 11th graders were on grade level.

2008 - 32%, State - 39%

Real Estate Taxes

Property tax rates in 2009 were set at 12.6000 mills. A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property's assessed value. Irregular property reassessments have become a serious issue in the commonwealth as it creates a significant disparity in taxation within a community and across a region.

Property Tax Relief

In 2009, the Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief from gambling for the Connellsville Area School District was set at $151 for the 9,710 approved primary homesteads and farmsteads. The highest tax relief in Fayette County was given to Uniontown Area School District
Uniontown Area School District
Uniontown Area School District is a highly fragmented school district located in Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It serves the city of Uniontown and the boroughs of Ohiopyle, and Markleysburg. It also serves Wharton, Henry Clay, Menallen, Franklin, and Stewart townships. The district...

 which was set at $200. In 2009, Connellsville Area School District tax relief was set at $152 for 9,623 homesteads. The relief was subtracted from the total annual school property tax bill. Property owners apply for the relief through the county Treasurer's office. Farmers can qualify for a farmstead exemption on building used for agricultural purposes. The farm must be at least 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) and must be the primary residence of the owner. Farmers can qualify for both the homestead exemption and the farmstead exemption. In Fayette County, 72% of eligible property owners applied for property tax relief in 2009.
Pennsylvania awarded the highest property tax relief to residents of the Chester-Upland School District in Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....

at $632 per homestead and farmstead in 2010. This was the second year CUSD was the top recipient.

Additionally, the Pennsylvania Property Tax/Rent Rebate program is provided for low income Pennsylvanians aged 65 and older; widows and widowers aged 50 and older; and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income limit is $35,000 for homeowners. The maximum rebate for both homeowners and renters is $650. Applicants can exclude one-half (1/2) of their Social Security income, consequently individuals whose income is substantially more than $35,000 may still qualify for a rebate. Individuals must apply annually for the rebate. This can be taken in addition to Homestead/Farmstead Property Tax Relief.

Property taxes in Pennsylvania are relatively high on a national scale. According to the Tax Foundation, Pennsylvania ranked 11th in the U.S. in 2008 in terms of property taxes paid as a percentage of home value (1.34%) and 12th in the country in terms of property taxes as a percentage of income (3.55%).
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