Pennsylvania approves merger of 2 districts

The Pennsylvania Board of Education has approved the merger of the Center Area and Monaca school districts. The districts are the first to merge since Woodland Hills was created by a court order in 1982, and the first ever to merge on a truly voluntary basis. They will officially become one July 1, and will launch combined elementary classes next school year. Middle school and high school classes will follow in the fall of 2010.
To read The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, click here.

EARLIER: Pennsylvania will shed a school district by the end of this school year - a significant development after years of nationwide efforts to nudge and sometimes force school systems to share services or merge. The merger between two districts with sharply declining enrollments-- Center Area and Monaca--is the state's first consolidation in at least 20 years and, most notably, its first voluntary one. To read The Philadelphia Inquirer article, click here.