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State Board proposes framework to decide when schools are "small by necessity" for Act 73 funding
Summary
The State Board of Education recommended a multi-criteria framework to determine when a school qualifies as 'small by necessity' under Act 73 — including travel-time thresholds, unsafe terrain, capacity constraints, demographic trajectory and closure cost analysis — and urged the Agency of Education to administer determinations and embed rules in Educational Quality Standards.
Tammy Colby, who led the State Board special committee, presented the board's recommendations to the House Education Committee on Jan. 16 as part of the board's assignment under Act 73 Section 37.
Colby said the board’s approach does not change statutory size thresholds — "a small school is one that’s less than 100 students and a school located in a sparsely populated area is less than 55 persons per square mile" — but recommends a framework to determine when small or sparse status is driven by geography or isolation (and therefore qualifies for additional funding) versus local policy choices or organizational decisions.
Key…
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