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Old 05-08-2015, 07:50 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,351 posts, read 17,003,432 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Moby Hick View Post
Depending on how it works out (especially in the area of property taxes), it should probably boost house prices in Wilkinsburg and result in fewer houses being abandoned.
I also wonder how the feeder zones will work.

I've advocated for awhile that the portions of Wilkinsburg west of the Busway should go (presuming a merger) to Minadeo and then Allderdice. This would provide dramatically better local school options for the already gentrifying portions of Wilkinsburg, which would further help home sale prices.
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Old 05-08-2015, 02:14 PM
 
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Most Wilkinsburg children attend either charter, Catholic or Christian schools in the area. There are many children that attend PPS illegally. The Tribune Review says there are 240 students in the middle and highschool grades. That is a very small number considering the population. How many additional Wilkinsburg families will discontinue the alternative schools for PPS? Will the children have access to the Promise scholarship?
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Old 05-08-2015, 03:02 PM
 
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What's in it for Pittsburgh? Nothing that I can see. Where would the Wilkinsburg kids go to school? Putting them into Allderdice would reduce the quality of Allderdice. Send them to Westinghouse? LOL. You'd need police in and around the school to keep the Homewood guys off of them. What next, annex Braddock, Rankin, and Homestead? Annex all of the worst inner suburbs with Pittsburgh. Great for those places, not so great for the city.
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Old 05-08-2015, 04:22 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Herodotus View Post
What's in it for Pittsburgh? Nothing that I can see. Where would the Wilkinsburg kids go to school? Putting them into Allderdice would reduce the quality of Allderdice. Send them to Westinghouse? LOL. You'd need police in and around the school to keep the Homewood guys off of them. What next, annex Braddock, Rankin, and Homestead? Annex all of the worst inner suburbs with Pittsburgh. Great for those places, not so great for the city.
There are good kids in Wilkinsburg. As a society we would gain children that are at least given the opportunity to participate in a functioning high school. Putting these kids in Allderdice would not reduce the quality of Allderdice. The article did state that the test scores will not intermix. I attended Allderdice in the 90s and there were bad kids then. Good kids will do good regardless of the "bad" kids. The good and bad kids will not know or interact with one another. Most "bad" kids do not make it past the 10th grade anyway. As a parent I would never label an entire district based on a few bad kids. This same scenario played out in Duquesne a few years back. We have not heard of one incident at East Allegheny or West Mifflin that involved these "bad" kids. Kids need a chance and PPS should not expect anything out of it.
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Old 05-08-2015, 07:03 PM
 
Location: Pittsburgh, PA (Morningside)
14,351 posts, read 17,003,432 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Herodotus View Post
What's in it for Pittsburgh? Nothing that I can see. Where would the Wilkinsburg kids go to school? Putting them into Allderdice would reduce the quality of Allderdice. Send them to Westinghouse? LOL. You'd need police in and around the school to keep the Homewood guys off of them. What next, annex Braddock, Rankin, and Homestead? Annex all of the worst inner suburbs with Pittsburgh. Great for those places, not so great for the city.
In addition to what Wpipkins said, I think it's assured Wilkinsburg will pay Pittsburgh more money per student than Pittsburgh spends per pupil now. E.g., they're going to buy PPS off. Which is fine, because in the last reported year Wilkinsburg spent 18% more per pupil than Pittsburgh. They can sell the students to PPS at a markup, and still realize big savings for Wilkinsburg taxpayers.
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Old 05-08-2015, 08:24 PM
 
Location: 15206
1,860 posts, read 2,577,164 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam View Post
The problem with restoring homes in Wilkinsburg is that usually they aren't worth the money it takes, once the work is done.
They easily would be if their tax millage was comparable to Pittsburgh and not more than 2 times it.

If PPS absorbs the failing Wilkinsburg schools, will Wilkinsburg continue to have the highest taxes in the state or will they lower their school millage to Pittsburgh's?
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Old 05-09-2015, 06:36 AM
 
Location: Crafton via San Francisco
3,463 posts, read 4,642,526 times
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I was waitlisted for the workshop and just got an email saying that a spot opened up. I'll let you know what I learn. I'm especially interested in the tax situation.
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Old 05-09-2015, 07:37 AM
gg
 
Location: Pittsburgh
26,137 posts, read 25,945,662 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by selltheburgh View Post
If PPS absorbs the failing Wilkinsburg schools, will Wilkinsburg continue to have the highest taxes in the state or will they lower their school millage to Pittsburgh's?
The school district sets the millage to meet the budget, so Wilkinsburg would have their taxes dropped wildly if they could get to go to PPS. Considering how few students there are in Wilkinsburg, I feel Pittsburgh should think long term and just swallow Wilkinsburg. I know it doesn't seem like a good idea at the moment, but look at Wilkinsburg's location. I feel investors would start chipping away at it if it was part of Pittsburgh. If anyone was smart in Wilkinsburg, they would try everything in their power to get Pittsburgh to take over. If Wilkinsburg stays on its own, it will never be very nice. I suspect the folks running Wilkinsburg wouldn't want to give up their tiny political positions, but I don't know that for sure.
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Old 05-09-2015, 09:24 AM
 
Location: Pittsburgh
6,782 posts, read 9,584,196 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Herodotus View Post
What's in it for Pittsburgh? Nothing that I can see.
It's short-sighted to think that having a failed school district right on the municipal border doesn't hurt Pittsburgh (and the other surrounding communities) and that if the deal were structured correctly so that it improved the district, the city would be helped.
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Old 05-09-2015, 10:35 AM
 
Location: United States
12,390 posts, read 7,089,986 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by selltheburgh View Post
They easily would be if their tax millage was comparable to Pittsburgh and not more than 2 times it.

If PPS absorbs the failing Wilkinsburg schools, will Wilkinsburg continue to have the highest taxes in the state or will they lower their school millage to Pittsburgh's?
That's a good question that my brother, and I were discussing just this morning. I would bet that it would remain higher, how much higher is the real question.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gg View Post
The school district sets the millage to meet the budget, so Wilkinsburg would have their taxes dropped wildly if they could get to go to PPS. Considering how few students there are in Wilkinsburg, I feel Pittsburgh should think long term and just swallow Wilkinsburg. I know it doesn't seem like a good idea at the moment, but look at Wilkinsburg's location. I feel investors would start chipping away at it if it was part of Pittsburgh. If anyone was smart in Wilkinsburg, they would try everything in their power to get Pittsburgh to take over. If Wilkinsburg stays on its own, it will never be very nice. I suspect the folks running Wilkinsburg wouldn't want to give up their tiny political positions, but I don't know that for sure.
I don't think Wilkinsburg has to merge with the city, as long as the schools merge.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Moby Hick View Post
It's short-sighted to think that having a failed school district right on the municipal border doesn't hurt Pittsburgh (and the other surrounding communities) and that if the deal were structured correctly so that it improved the district, the city would be helped.
I completely agree. There's no doubt that more of Wilkinsburg would gentrify if the school situation were fixed.
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