Some of the 75 Saint Clair Area School District parents and community members who attended a town hall Monday evening expressed worry and a bit of apprehension about potentially finding a new partner to send its high school-age students.
They also learned how much it would cost Saint Clair Area to send its high school students to one of three districts who submitted proposals to be that next school.
Saint Clair is pondering the end of a 36-year-old arrangement it’s had with Pottsville Area School District where its students attend high school in the city. The former Saint Clair Area High School closed in 1989 and since then, graduating eighth graders from Saint Clair generally go to Pottsville to finish their secondary education.
But that arrangement is about to expire and earlier this year, board members at Saint Clair Area sent out a Request for Proposal to all Schuylkill County public school districts. It received three responses, from North Schuylkill, Schuylkill Haven Area, and Pottsville Area school districts.
At the end of September, Saint Clair Area students and parents, as well as the general public, had a chance to tour each of those three high schools and hear their proposals.
Monday’s town hall was provided as a chance to review those proposals and field questions from the public. Questions and concerns ranged from costs to logistics to the proposed timing of the vote on this matter. Cost seemed to be a secondary concern.
Whatever is chosen would go into effect for the 2028-29 school term.
Students in Two School Districts
One of the big concerns expressed from the beginning of this process has been the possibility of some families with multiple children having to send them to two school districts.
If Saint Clair chooses a school other than Pottsville Area, students currently in sixth grade would attend the new school while those currently in seventh and eighth would continue at Pottsville.
That’s something the Braceys, Bobby and Samantha, are facing. They have one student in seventh and another in fifth grade. They face the possibility of having one graduate from Pottsville Area High School and another from either North Schuylkill or Schuylkill Haven Area.
They told Saint Clair Area officials that they’d prefer the district maintain its arrangement with Pottsville or at least have the option to keep their children in the same district.
Saint Clair Area board president Michael Holobetz attempted to reassure the Braceys and others that situations like that could be alleviated once the districts are able to negotiate finer points of a possible transition to another school.
He said Saint Clair can’t enter those negotiations until it chooses a district with which to partner going forward.
Logistics
Another area of concern is the amount of traveling a Saint Clair Area student must endure to get to a new school, whether it be North Schuylkill or Schuylkill Haven Area.
The district provided estimates on the amount of traveling distance, not time on buses, for its students to either of the three potential schools. Those distances were calculated from Saint Clair Area Elementary/Middle School in the borough as well as Middleport, a common long distance from each of the districts:
To North Schuylkill …
- From SCAEMS: 8 miles
- From Middleport: 17 miles
To Schuylkill Haven Area …
- From SCAEMS: 7 miles
- From Middleport: 12 miles
To Pottsville Area …
- From SCAEMS: 4 miles
- From Middleport: 10 miles
Community Integration
Outside of the logistical issues brought up by parents at Monday’s town hall, there’s also the issue of community integration. Of those who said they’d prefer it if Pottsville remained the destination for Saint Clair Area high school students, the fact that it’s been that way for more than 30 years means something.
“I would just personally prefer them to go to Pottsville,” Samantha Bracey said as another reason for wanting things to stay the same. “It only makes sense. We’ve been integrated with the community for 35 years. Our kids have been playing sports together. My kids are playing soccer at Pottsville since they were four years old. It just doesn’t make much sense to send them anywhere else.”
Vote Expected Soon
Some parents expressed their concerns with the timing of a vote on choosing the next high school partner.
Saint Clair officials say they plan to discuss the proposals and community feedback they’ve received at a Nov. 5 school board work session with a vote likely on Nov. 12.
After not getting as many firm answers as they would have liked at Monday’s town hall, some wondered why the rush to choose.
Saint Clair has until May 2026 to tell Pottsville if it’s going to go in another direction but Holobetz said previously that he’d like to settle on a decision before he leaves office at the end of this year. He’s not up for re-election in the November 2025 Schuylkill County Municipal Election.
Holobetz said he believes it’s also important to have a decision by January, when the district begins its budgeting process for the next term.
Tuition Cost Proposals By District
Based on information released Monday night by Saint Clair Area School District, here is what each of the three districts that responded to the RFP submitted as far as tuition cost is concerned:
Tuition Costs – North Schuylkill School District
| Year | Regular Education | Special Education |
|---|---|---|
| Years 1 & 2 | $6,750 | $11,000 |
| Year 3 | $6,250 | $10,500 |
| Year 4 | $6,250 | $10,750 |
| Year 5 | $6,500 | $11,000 |
| Year 6 | $6,500 | $11,250 |
| Year 7 | $6,750 | $11,500 |
| Year 8 | $6,750 | $11,750 |
| Year 9 | $7,250 | $12,250 |
| Year 10 | $7,500 | $12,500 |
Tuition Costs – Schuylkill Haven Area School District
| Year(s) | Regular Education | Special Education |
|---|---|---|
| Years 1 & 2 | $7,000 | $11,500 |
| Years 3 & 4 | $7,100 | $11,600 |
| Years 5 & 6 | $7,250 | $11,750 |
| Years 7 & 8 | $7,400 | $11,900 |
| Years 9 & 10 | $7,500 | $12,000 |
Tuition Costs – Pottsville Area School District
(Estimated based on PDE 363 (Charter school funding) rate + 3% annual increase)
At Monday’s presentation, Holobetz said Pottsville told Saint Clair officials to anticipate a 3-5% increase in tuition costs over the next five years and that is reflected in the figures the school released.
“These numbers are actually high, compared to what the actual cost would be,” he said.
| Year | Regular Education | Special Education |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 – 35% discount | $6,989 | $8,398 |
| Year 2 – 30% discount | $7,752 | $8,616 |
| Year 3 – 25% discount | $8,555 | $10,281 |
| Year 4 – 20% discount | $9,399 | $11,295 |
| Years 5–10 – 15% discount | $10,286 | $12,361 |
| (Next year projection) | $10,595 | $12,732 |
| (Following year projection) | $10,919 | $13,114 |
| (Later projection) | $11,240 | $13,507 |
| (Extended projection) | $11,577 | $13,913 |
| (Long-term projection) | $11,925 | $14,330 |
Saint Clair also provided this side-by-side-side comparison of the total tuition cost from the three districts:
Total Costs Over 10 Years
According to Saint Clair Area Superintendent Thomas McLaughlin, the following figures are based on the district’s current enrollment against the costs outlined in the RFP plus additional costs.
| District | Estimated Total Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| North Schuylkill | $18,786,500 | — |
| Pottsville Area | $24,464,165 (3% increase) | + 50% of Schuylkill Technology Center transportation + Actual cost of ESL (English as a Second Language) services (8% admin. fee) + Pro-rated share of supplemental funding if received |
| Schuylkill Haven Area | $19,930,850 | + 40% cost of added teachers (beyond first 5 teachers added) Estimated 6 teachers at $125,000 over 10-year period (approx. $2.6 million) |
Transition Costs
If Saint Clair Area were to choose a high school other than Pottsville Area, the deal would include students currently in sixth grade and earlier. So, Saint Clair would have to pay two school districts for students currently in seventh and eighth grades.
Saint Clair presented the total transition costs over the 10-year period if it were to choose:
- North Schuylkill: $20,316,374
- Schuylkill Haven Area: $21,298,174
Holobetz stressed that the decision Saint Clair makes on a high school partner district should not be seen as a “referendum” on Pottsville. He said the district has just been frustrated with negotiations on a long-term deal with its current partner and is responding to a consultant’s recommendation to solicit bids for a new one.
One parent told Saint Clair officials that they don’t want the decision on their child’s education to come down to whoever submitted the lowest bid.
Parents with more concerns can address them to boardofdirectors@saintclairsd.org.
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