Shasta County School Superintendent Briefs Realtors
REDDING LIFESTYLES, SHASTA COUNTY, TIPS FOR BUYERS
July 29th, 2009
Tom Armelino, Superintendent of Shasta County Schools, addressed Realtors recently about the state of our public schools. He presented considerable statistical information about our schools and some of the challenges ahead sparked by the state’s budget crisis.
Here are some of the facts he discussed:
- Ethnic distribution for Shasta County schools-78% white, 8% hispanic, 6% African American, 3% Asian, 5% other
- 13% of students have learning disabilities
- 27,267 students-13% less than just a few years ago
- 25 school districts
- School districts range in size from 9 to 5,015 pupils
- 43 Elementary Schools, 8 Middle/Junior High Schools, 8 High Schools, 13 Charter Schools, 5 Continuation Schools, 1 ROP School
- 22 private Schools with 3,342 students
- 2275 students enrolled in Charter Schools
- 21 out of 25 Shasta County School districts have declining enrollments since 2005
- 1400 home study students in the county
Reasons cited for declining enrollment incude:
- Decline in birth rate
- Welfare Reform-some forced to move to larger cities for employment
- Housing Market-soaring home costs have forced families to leave the area
The school district loses $8,000/student/year for each student that does not enroll. Despite lost revenues, Shasta County school students continue to score better on math and reading tests over the past three years. The number of students taking advanced classes has increased significantly as well.
Tom stated the Academic Performance Index (API) is the best index for comparing schools. Overall, the state index is 728. The average in Shasta County is 781. Only 2 schools in Shasta County are below 700. Only 8% of our schools had an API above 800 in 1999; now it’s 74%!
Bottom line: Our schools are outperforming the state average for the most part despite large funding cuts to the county. Good job students and teachers!
530-224-6767 or 530-941-7492
BRAD GARBUTT
REALTOR/BROKER ASSOCIATE
REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONALS GMAC
CORNER OF COURT AND PLACER IN REDDING
QUARTER CENTURY LOCAL REAL ESTATE EXPERIENCE
good to see the students are doing well in reading