Sharon / Hermitage school and housing info (Pittsburgh, New Castle: crime, houses, employment)

[jak3811]

Hello,

I have recently been looking to move to Sharon or Hermitage, I have found some nice houses, at good prices and wondered if anyone could give me any information about Sharon or Hermitage.

I recently heard the school district of Sharon was bad, then others tell me it is okay. Does anyone have any information they could share? Are hermitage schools a better bet?

The area I have been looking at houses is East of Carley Ave and North of Highland (State Route 3014)

Thanks for any input!

[CortlandGirl79]

Hermitage schools (Hickory) are much better from what i've heard...........

[SorryIMovedBack]

Ever since the postwar migration to the suburbs, the local school system that all the college-educated parents want their kids in has been Hermitage. All of the Westinghouse and Sharon Steel execs had relocated to Hermitage in '50s through '70s. One woman I know has two white kids in Sharon school, and they've been bullied and roughed up in the HS itself, harassed and had money and clothes stolen while walking to school, and she had to get police involved and press charges. And the school said "there's noting we can do about it." Um, do we not expel violent kids anymore? Too much Farrell has moved to Sharon, and white Farrell moved to Hermitage, if that tells ya anything.

If you want to look at the two school systems with the most money per student, it's Farrell (due to all of it's disadvantaged and minority student body bringing in the federal aid) and Hermitage (where the moneyed people, what's left of them, live.)

Hermitage has been the stronger school system academically, historically, but the whole region has suffered a brain drain and job losses and Hermitage is becoming a retirement community and Sharon / Farrell is becoming a jungle like Youngstown. That area near the park in Sharon is probably the best, but that blight and crime is also creeping out that way as West Hill and downtown and Meek St. and Jefferson St. decline. Sharon city has huge financial problems (check news for latest) and has been hiking property taxes and will continue to do so, because there is no longer an industrial base to tax so they'll have to tap the property owners to keep going. When Youngstown boomed, this area boomed, but too many jobs and places of employment have left. Retirees keep the area'e economy going. It's Rust Belt.

Look at latest census reports. Hermitage is now the largest population. Sharon / Farrell / Sharpsville declined.

I get blasted for snobbery (and worse, hehe) when I mention socioeconomic factors, but the populace of this region is poorly educated by modern standards. Read the obits and you see lots of retirees from area mills, and homemakers. With only high school education. The leading edge of baby boomers hitting retirement now may have found decent careers worth staying for, but anyone who was graduated from high school past '75 and went on to college probably moved away because this area doesn't have employment for college grads except ed and med. Do you have jobs already? Don't move here thinking you will find work. Nursing homes and LPN jobs and counseling / wraparound are the biggest employers. The hospitals have laid off RNs and LPNs, but then they rehire part-timers. The whole region has a bad tendency to be boom / bust. Nothing stable to hang your hat on, in other words. Pittsburgh and Cranberry are too far away to drive daily, and remember that the commute time is practically doubled by any freezing rain or heavy snow.

I grew up here, had a nice life elsewhere, moved back, and then left again. I won't be back. Even Hermitage is heavily ethnic, Catholic, and working class, and antiquated ideas of lifestyles and gender roles, plus, as I said, poorly educated.

You decide. But be sure to turn over all the rocks and look at the bad as well as the low home prices. New Wilmington and West Middlesex might be other school systems to consider. Parts of New Castle might be okay to reside in, but I don't have kids and I don't live there so I can't comment on the schools there. Reynolds and Greenville have turned out some bright students, too. That area is much more rural. So is NW and WM.