Johnsonburg Area School Districts receive Funding

Johnsonburg Area School Districts receive Funding

Over $17,000 was distributed to Johnsonburg School Districts from the Elk County Community Foundation. As an approved Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program (EITC) partner the Foundation receives donations from qualified business to provide innovative educational programing with in the public schools k-12 school.

This year Johnsonburg School District replaced a computer cart with laptops and upgraded the wireless service at their Elementary school. The EITC donations for innovative technology, like this, are administered and distributed through the Foundation, which has been designated to serve as an Educational Improvement Organization by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.

Recently representatives from the Community Foundation and Northwest Savings Bank, one of this year’s EITC contributors, visited Johnsonburg Elementary school to check out the new laptops and cart. 6th grade students were eager to share some of the stories and projects they have been working on with the new laptops. One of the programs they use is “Study Island” which provides a lesson or video that the students are then tested on to see how much they retained. Another program, the students really seemed to like was called “Throw the Teacher” and it dealt mostly with math skills like multiplication and division. All in all, the students love using the laptops, each student has an assigned number for the computer they use and the privilege of using the laptops is reserved for the 6th graders and the cart house in the 6th grade wing of the school. Other grades levels need to move to one of the computer lab rooms to have access to multiple computers.

Other companies that contributed to the programs this year were: Farmers National Bank, EQT Production Co.; Highmark Casualty Insurance Company, Synder Trucking Company; Advantage Sales Co., Susquehanna Wire Rope and Rigging and PNC Bank. Any entity can be authorized to conduct business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and subject to certain taxes is eligible to apply to be involved with the EITC program. Tax credits are limited to 75% of the business’ contribution with a maximum of $750,000 annually. If a business agrees to make the same contribution for two consecutive years, it may receive a tax credit equal to 90% of its contribution. Interested participants must submit a brief application to the DCED. The application can be found at www.inventpa.com. The foundation also has applications and further information available to assist with the business application process.

Pictured standing behind a group of Johnsonburg Elementary 6th grade students from left to right are: Charlie Constable, Elk County Community Foundation Board member along with Angie Leader and Christina Tigani, representing North West Savings Bank