Pottsville Area School District has released a statement regarding recent public remarks from officials within Saint Clair Area School District regarding their desire to seek a new place to send its high school students.
In June, board members at Saint Clair Area approved a Request for Proposals from all school districts in Schuylkill County. The district is seeking a better deal financially than it says it’s getting from Pottsville Area.
Saint Clair Area has been sending 9th-12th grade students to Pottsville Area High School since 1990, when Saint Clair Area High School was closed.
During a Town Hall event in May, Saint Clair Area officials said Pottsville Area is charging a flat rate annually to have its students at their neighbor’s high school. Instead, Saint Clair Area wants a per-student tuition rate, per a recommendation from a consultant the district hired.
That consultant also explored the possibility of re-opening a Saint Clair Area High School but the plans were deemed unfeasible at the moment, mostly due to finances and a lack of a place to put the physical school.
Hearing these statements for the last month or so, Pottsville Area School District has decided to answer back publicly, promising to come forward with more data in the near future to back a statement it’s releasing now.
For now, Pottsville Area is saying that it offers “fair payment options” to Saint Clair Area, despite what has been said publicly thus far.
Here’s Pottsville Area’s statement regarding the Saint Clair Area issue:
“We are aware of the public statements made by the Saint Clair Area School Board and District Administration regarding the long-standing partnership between our districts. While we respect the desire of the SCASD to advertise for a Request for Proposals, the PASD wants to ensure that the public has a complete and full understanding of PASD’s efforts to maintain and grow our relationship.
“In the future, the PASD will be providing facts and evidence to the public explaining the history of our relationship and why the PASD continues to offer fair payment options to the SCASD in an effort to maintain this relationship for the betterment of both Saint Clair and Pottsville students and families.
“We welcome and encourage open and honest dialogue with our Saint Clair neighbors on this issue and look forward to engaging with all stakeholders.”
FULL COVERAGE:
- Saint Clair May Break from Pottsville Area High School; Reopening Own High School a Future Possibility
- Process to Potentially Send Saint Clair Students Somewhere Other Than Pottsville High School Begins
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Joseph Corby
July 1, 2025 at 12:42 pm
If you listen to Saint Clair they want a button per child agreement, not one lump some a year, there are students going other places such as Nativity, cyber schools, Haven per one parent, so a lump sum a year is daunting, should be based on each child going, tuition based makes sense