Central Cambria creates elementary study FAQs page

District counters misinformation about building use report

EBENSBURG -- To combat misinformation on social media about the Central Cambria School District's feasibility study for space utilization of its elementary school buildings, the district posted a frequently asked questions page to address local residents' concerns.

The district created the page about a week after the board of directors authorized Eckles Construction Service and DRAW Collective to conduct the study on Nov. 13, according to Superintendent Jason Moore, who updates the webpage regularly.

The FAQ webpage contains a timeline of recent facility upgrades and explains how they don't line up with CPV Fairview Energy Center entering taxation; how Pennsylvania schools are funded; and possible cost savings in combining third through fifth grades.

Most of the questions Moore addresses on the FAQ webpage came from "Walmart conversations" he had with parents and community members while he was out shopping or attending sporting events.

The FAQ was most recently updated Jan. 5 after board members briefed him about concerns brought up by an ad hoc committee consisting of a few board members, elementary teachers, administrators and parents from Jackson Elementary, a school that has been the focus of a lot of public concerns.

Moore estimates that for every one person who says "Jackson Elementary should be kept open for kindergarten through fifth grade at all cost," three to four people approach him saying, "Tell the board I don't want my taxes going up."

"Many of those people who make that comment point to how nearly every other local school district has had to make similar decisions out of necessity," he said.

Moore said the FAQ has received some criticism for using the Richland School District as a comparison, which has nearly identical student enrollment numbers but operates efficiently with fewer buildings and staff members.

"Seven years ago, Central Cambria was in the middle of the pack academically, and now we're nipping at Richland's heels," he said. "Their resources are going to students rather than to support buildings and inefficiencies."

Moore said people have tried to claim the district's enrollment projections from the Pennsylvania Department of Education displayed on the FAQ page are "phony" or "made-up" numbers.

"They are publicly available, and so is their methodology. They use actual live birth rates," he said, adding people also claim that the district's enrollment is increasing because of families moving into the area.

He said while it is true that people move into the school district because of their academics, extracurriculars and athletics, the overall demographic trends in Cambria County show a declining student population in many schools.

"You don't need to be a demographer to see that we have graduated 150 students in the past few years, and our current kindergarten enrollment between two buildings is at exactly 100," he said.

Moore said it's not logical to maintain the same level of staffing with that level of decreased enrollment. Realigning grade levels is something the board "has to look at" in order to manage its finances efficiently, he said.

"People choose our district because we have the best teachers, principals and staff around," Moore said. "However, we also need to operate efficiently."

Moore said the district could eliminate some administrative positions through attrition -- not replacing employees who quit or retire -- to offset costs.

Even if grade levels were realigned, the FAQ page suggests that Jackson Elementary School could be used to expand early childhood education through a third-party provider, such as the Educational Improvement Tax Credit program.

The program would permit local businesses to apply for tax credits of up to 90% of a donation to an approved provider, according to the Central Cambria website, which states the program would only provide options for parents and would not impact any church child care programs.

The FAQ webpage can be viewed at https://www.cencam.org/apps/news/article/1862255.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.