PRINTER'S NO. 2415
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
556
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY TRUITT, SANTORA, JAMES, SAYLOR, SCHEMEL, McGINNIS
AND WARD, OCTOBER 21, 2015
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, OCTOBER 21, 2015
A RESOLUTION
Directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a
study and publish an electronic report on the potential
savings by school districts that adopt certain operations
management practices intended to optimize classroom
capacities.
WHEREAS, The Constitution of Pennsylvania requires the
General Assembly to provide for the maintenance and support of a
thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the
needs of this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Redistricting is a process that school districts
typically use every five to ten years to balance student
populations between school buildings within a school district;
and
WHEREAS, School districts rarely redistrict due to costs and
the emotional distress experienced by the community as a result
of transferring large percentages of students to different
school buildings; and
WHEREAS, Logistics professionals in this Commonwealth already
use existing technology, such as geographic information system
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
software and optimization computer programs, that add value for
their stakeholders; and
WHEREAS, The rising cost of education continues to elevate
the importance of exploring any and all potential methods to
achieve cost savings and improve academic outcomes; and
WHEREAS, Greater efficiency could fund full-day kindergarten,
provide property tax relief and lead to smaller class sizes; and
WHEREAS, Proper balancing of student populations between
classrooms helps to ensure equal educational opportunities for
students and greater fairness in evaluating the performance of
teaching professionals; and
WHEREAS, A more granular and dynamic redistricting process
that focuses on balancing student populations between classrooms
within a school district instead of between school buildings
could save money, reduce emotional distress, eliminate
unnecessary student transfers, shorten bus rides, ensure equal
educational opportunities and ensure fairness in teacher
evaluations; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the Joint
State Government Commission to conduct a comprehensive, school
district-by-school district study of the potential savings that
could be realized by each school district in this Commonwealth
by moving to a more frequent, flexible and proactive
redistricting program that prioritizes balancing of class sizes
over school populations; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission publish
an electronic report of the results of the study on the
commission's publicly accessible Internet website within one
year of the adoption of this resolution; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission not
20150HR0556PN2415 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
publish hard copies of the report; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the report include an estimate of the
potential savings for each school district in this Commonwealth;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the report be sortable by school district,
student population or the amount of the potential savings; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That the report be downloadable by users of the
commission's website; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission notify
all members of the General Assembly when the electronic report
is available for public access.
20150HR0556PN2415 - 3 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12