Friday, January 24, 2014

Where have all the students gone?

Concern:  "Pittsburgh's school-age population has fallen by 29 percent since 2000 to 37,431."  That quote from the Post-Gazette editorial doesn't really get at the big picture regarding Pittsburgh's population changes.  It leads us to believe that the problem began in 2000.  It also leads us to believe that the Pittsburgh Public Schools currently educates over 37,000 students.  

 The problem started in the 1960's for many reasons articulated below.  And to be exact... there are 37,000 students in Pittsburgh, but only 24,000 attend the Pittsburgh Public Schools.    And, as you will learn, half of the school age children in Pittsburgh take advantage of some type of school choice option.  

 Let's get some background.  

Pittsburgh
Allegheny County
Metro Area
1950
676,806
1,515,237
2,581,297
1960
604,332
1,628,587
2,768,938
1970
520,089
1,605,016
2,759,443
1980
423,959
1,450,195
2,651,991
1990
369,879
1,336,449
2,468,289
2000
334,563
1,281,666
2,431,087
2010
305,704
1,223,348
2,356,285
Population Loss 1950 to 2010
-54.83%
-24.88%
-14.90%
 This table shows the population of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County and the Metropolitan area which includes all counties contiguous to Allegheny County since 1950.  The steady decrease in Pittsburgh population can be attributed to the growth of the middle class, the growth of a highway network that made for increased mobility, the decline of the steel mills and the changing population due to mixing of races and nationalities.  Note that during this 60 year period, the city population decreased by 55% while the county decreased by 25% and the metropolitan area by 15%.  This suggests that many people associated with the population loss did not leave Western Pennsylvania, but migrated from the city to the near suburbs and then distant suburbs. 

The large majority of people who moved out of Pittsburgh’s Urban Core[1] were those individuals and families with financial means to do so.  This left an urban core that contained families with less income, resources and support and a community with a shrinking tax base. 

The logistics of this migration are somewhat more complex than one might expect.  Pennsylvania in general and the Pittsburgh region specifically, is highly localized by community.  Consider that Allegheny County, with a land mass of 745 square miles, consists of 4 cities, 4 municipalities, 82 boroughs, 40 townships and 36 additional neighborhoods designated through the US census[2].  For many years, most of these entities had their own governance (mayor and council), police departments, fire departments and school districts.  These entities also had many local differences regarding property taxes, sale of alcohol, Sunday Blue laws, garbage collection, curfews, parking and education.  Finally, social differences pertaining to religion, race, ethnicity, economic status and political beliefs were considerations when one was moving to a new community.   Thus, when the migration occurred, people had many variables to consider when choosing a community to move to. 

At the same time as this migration was occurring, there was a dramatic change in the nature of Pennsylvania school districts. During the last century, most of the cities, municipalities, boroughs and townships had their own school district.  In 1963, the Bureau of School District Reorganization in Pennsylvania reduced the 2,056 school districts with which it began to 742 by 1967, and to 501 by 1988[3]. This involved merging schools from multiple townships/boroughs/municipalities into single school districts.  As one might imagine, there was a backlash due to loss of local control.  There was also concern about mixing populations from different racial and/or social backgrounds.  A decrease from 2,056 to 501 is substantial, yet it still leaves Pennsylvania with a large number of school districts.  For example, there currently are 43 unique school districts in Allegheny County, and many more in the metropolitan area, each with its own superintendent, business manager, union, school board, curriculum and physical plant.    

During this time of migration from the city and merging of school districts, the Pittsburgh Public School district began to shrink.  Enrollment decreased from 72,000 students in the early 1960’s, to 48,000 in the early 1980’s, to 38,000 in the early 2000’s, to a current enrollment of approximately 24,000.  This is a clear indication of a flight out of the city of families with school age children. It should be noted that the implementation of a school desegregation plan in the late 1970's precipitated a large loss of population to the suburbs (i.e. white flight.)  The most obvious effect of this flight was a decrease in the number of public schools from 98 in the 1960’s to 54 in 2013. 

It should also be noted that during this time frame, approximately 20% of the student population of Pittsburgh attended private or parochial schools.  Much like the public schools, over the last 50 years, the Diocese has closed many urban schools and opened others in the suburbs.  A current example of this is the closing of North Catholic High School in Pittsburgh and opening of a new large North Catholic High School in the suburban North Hills. 

An important consequence of this flight from Pittsburgh was a new demographic context for staff, students, parents and community in the Pittsburgh schools.  The 2000 US census stated that 67% of Pittsburgh’s population were white (non-Hispanic) and 27% were African-American.  However, a 2002 National Center for Education Statistics report indicated that the Pittsburgh public school population was the opposite.  The district had 59% African-American students as compared to 39% white students.   Title I students (eligible for Free/Reduced lunch) as a percentage of the overall student population had increased steadily during this time period.   The Pittsburgh student population from a race and socio-economic perspective was changing in a manner that did not reflect the overall Pittsburgh population.  One other very important aspect of this demographic change was the increasing number of students who lived in single parent homes. 

The population shift also affected the “Mon Valley” outside of Pittsburgh.  The first ring of Pittsburgh suburbs (Wilkinsburg, Penn Hills, Braddock, Rankin, Swissvale, Pitcairn, Munhall, Turtle Creek, Wilmerding, McKeesport, Duquesne, Clairton, Mckees Rocks) held their own prior to the demise of the steel industry and desegregation.  However, loss of jobs, and the flight of families caused these first ring suburbs to mirror the city of Pittsburgh demographically.   Middle class families left these suburbs to move farther away from the urban core.  Pittsburgh families who wanted to move, but with limited resources, moved to these first ring suburbs often renting from homes that were converted from single family homes to three-unit rentals.  This change occurred during the decades of the 1960’s-80’s. Whether the flight of families was due to prosperity, racial tension or simply personal preference, it created a new and challenging educational context in the urban core.   

 So let's get back to that quote "Pittsburgh's school-age population has fallen by 29 percent since 2000 to 37,431."  First, the 37,431 school-age children in Pittsburgh attend many different schools.  Approximately 24,000 attend the district schools,  7,500 attend parochial schools, 3500 attend charter schools and the remainder attend private schools.  Thus about one out of every three students chooses to attend a non-district school.  Add to that the number the district students who attend magnets and we find that approximately half the children in Pittsburgh take advantage of school choice, some paying as much as $25,000  tuition per year.  Second, one might assume that having less students would create smaller classes and increased resources for those remaining.  This in fact is the case: the Pittsburgh Public Schools is spending more money per student (inflation adjusted) than at any time in its history.  The issue of the district's finances is a topic for another post to come.


[1] For the purposes of this blogpost, we are defining Pittsburgh’s Urban Core as Pittsburgh proper as well as those ring suburbs that have a high density of poverty and at-risk students. 
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