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Shenandoah Valley School District, Pennsylvania, elections

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Shenandoah Valley School District
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District details
School board members: 9
Students: 1,235 (2023-2024)
Schools: 2 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Shenandoah Valley School District is a school district in Pennsylvania (Schuylkill County). During the 2024 school year, 1,235 students attended one of the district's two schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

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Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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Shenandoah Valley School District, At-large

General election

General election for Shenandoah Valley School District, At-large (5 seats)

Joe Buchanan, Mike Donchak, Jodi Piekarski Loughlin, Anita Monahan, and Daniel P. Salvadore ran in the general election for Shenandoah Valley School District, At-large on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
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Joe Buchanan (D / R)
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Mike Donchak (D / R)
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Jodi Piekarski Loughlin (D / R)
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Anita Monahan (D / R)
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Daniel P. Salvadore (D / R)

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Shenandoah Valley School District, At-large

General election

General election for Shenandoah Valley School District, At-large

Leslie Gilroy ran in the general election for Shenandoah Valley School District, At-large on November 7, 2023.

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Leslie Gilroy (D / R)

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Election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

School board primary elections in Pennsylvania are held on the third Tuesday of May every two years in odd-numbered years.

School board general elections in Pennsylvania are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: State Statute 1937 Act 320

Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state except the Philadelphia School District

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state except the Philadelphia School District. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

  • Filing deadline date: March 10, 2027
  • Primary election date: May 18, 2027
  • General election date: November 8, 2027

Election system

Elected school board members in Pennsylvania are elected through a system of a partisan primary election and a partisan general election. As of 2022, all school boards except the board of the Philadelphia School District had elected school board members. The nine members of the Philadelphia School District Board of Education are appointed by the Philadelphia Mayor and confirmed by the city council.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: State Statute 1937 Act 320

Party labels on the ballot

School board elections in Pennsylvania are partisan, which means political party labels do appear on the ballot for school board candidates. School board candidates are nominated in closed partisan primary elections to appear on the general election ballot. Pennsylvania has closed primaries, which means that voters have to be affiliated with a political party in order to participate in primary elections. State statute allows school board candidates, among candidates for other offices, to file for nomination by multiple political parties. This practice, which is known as cross-filing, allows candidates to appear on both the Democratic primary election ballot and the Republican primary election ballot.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: State Statute 1937 Act 320

Winning an election

The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.

The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in a closed party primary is the nominee for that party and advances to the general election ballot.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Statute 1937 Act 320 and Pennsylvania Statute 1937 Act 320

Term length and staggering

Elected school board members in Pennsylvania have four-year terms. State law provides for six-year terms for the members of a reorganized First Class A district containing former districts of lower classes. As of 2022, all school districts in the state had board members with four-year terms.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III

As close to half of school board members as possible are elected every two years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

School board members are elected at large, by sub-district, or through a combination of the two, depending on the class of the district and whether or not a district has established a plan to elect board members from regions (sub-districts).

School districts classified as school districts of the second, third, or fourth classes can elect their school board members at large, by sub-district, or a combination of both.

Schools districts classified as First Class and First Class A School Districts must elect their school board members by sub-district.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III, Section 303
and Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III, Section 303(b)
and Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III, Section 303(a)

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

The deadline for independent and minor party candidates to file nomination papers to qualify for the general election ballot is August 1. Although Pennsylvania Statute states that independent and minor party candidates must file nomination papers on or before the second Friday after the primary election, the state moved the filing deadline to August 1 each year following two consent decrees in Hall v. Davis and Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania v. Davis.

Candidates running in the primary must file nomination petitions by the tenth Tuesday before the primary election held on the third Tuesday in May in odd-numbered years. This filing deadline is in early March.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Bureau of Elections Calendar; Nomination Paper Instruction Sheet; Hall v. Davis, 84-cv-1057 (E.D. Pa.); and Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania v. Davis, 84-cv-0262 (M.D. Pa.) and Pennsylvania Election Code, Act No. 320 of 1937, Article IX

Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first Monday in December according to state law.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Election Code, Act No. 320 of 1937, Article IX

 


About the district

School board

The Shenandoah Valley School District consists of nine members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Glenn Antz
Joseph Buchanan
Anne Cadau
Helene Creasy
Leslie Gilroy
Karen Kayes
Anita Monahan
John Petritsch
Shawn Rowan

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Shenandoah Valley School District
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 123Tim TwardzikRepublican Party 87% 6%
Pennsylvania House of Representatives District 116Dane Watro Jr.Republican Party 13% 1%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $4,307,000 $3,966 19%
Local: $5,327,000 $4,905 23%
State: $13,497,000 $12,428 58%
Total: $23,131,000 $21,299
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $21,038,000 $19,372
Total Current Expenditures: $15,953,000 $14,689
Instructional Expenditures: $10,567,000 $9,730 50%
Student and Staff Support: $1,127,000 $1,037 5%
Administration: $1,848,000 $1,701 9%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $2,411,000 $2,220 11%
Total Capital Outlay: $2,073,000 $1,908
Construction: $0 $0
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $118,000 $108
Interest on Debt: $302,000 $278

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 20 PS <50 10-14 PS 30-34
2018-2019 28 PS 21-39 20-24 PS 35-39
2017-2018 30 PS <=20 25-29 PS 30-34
2016-2017 30 >=50 <=20 20-24 PS PS 35-39
2015-2016 27 PS 21-39 20-24 PS PS 30-34
2014-2015 23 PS <=20 15-19 PS 25-29
2013-2014 57 PS 40-59 40-44 PS PS 67
2012-2013 59 PS 40-59 50-54 PS 64
2011-2012 62 PS 40-59 55-59 PS 66
2010-2011 70 PS >=50 60-64 PS PS 73

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 38 PS PS 30-34 PS 50-54
2018-2019 44 PS 21-39 35-39 PS 50-54
2017-2018 45 PS <50 40-44 PS 50-54
2016-2017 49 <50 21-39 40-44 PS PS 50-54
2015-2016 46 PS 40-59 30-34 PS PS 50-54
2014-2015 47 PS 21-39 35-39 PS 55-59
2013-2014 58 PS 21-39 40-44 PS PS 68
2012-2013 58 PS 40-59 40-44 PS 66
2011-2012 56 PS 21-39 40-44 PS 62
2010-2011 61 PS >=50 40-44 PS PS 68

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 85-89 PS PS 80-89 80-89
2018-2019 80-84 PS PS 80-89 PS 80-89
2017-2018 85-89 PS PS 60-79 >=90
2016-2017 85-89 >=50 >=80 80-89
2015-2016 80-84 PS >=80 80-89
2014-2015 75-79 PS <50 60-79 80-89
2013-2014 85-89 PS >=50 80-89
2012-2013 85-89 PS PS >=50 85-89
2011-2012 80-84 PS >=80 PS 80-84
2010-2011 65-69 PS >=50 40-59 65-69

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 1,235 2.1
2022-2023 1,209 10.2
2021-2022 1,086 7.8
2020-2021 1,001 -7.8
2019-2020 1,079 -1.7
2018-2019 1,097 -1.1
2017-2018 1,109 2.6
2016-2017 1,080 8.7
2015-2016 986 -3.3
2014-2015 1,019 -4.0
2013-2014 1,060 -2.3
2012-2013 1,084 -6.8
2011-2012 1,158 4.4
2010-2011 1,107 -9.1
2009-2010 1,208 5.3
2008-2009 1,144 0.6
2007-2008 1,137 -0.7
2006-2007 1,145 3.6
2005-2006 1,104 5.6
2004-2005 1,042 3.6
2003-2004 1,005 4.6
2002-2003 959 -2.8
2001-2002 986 0.6
2000-2001 980 -1.4
1999-2000 994 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Shenandoah Valley School District (%) Pennsylvania K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.2 0.2
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 0.2 4.7
Black 2.3 14.4
Hispanic 63.2 14.9
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.0 0.1
Two or More Races 1.0 5.3
White 33.2 60.4

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Shenandoah Valley School District had 93.00 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 13.28.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 5.00
Kindergarten: 5.00
Elementary: 35.42
Secondary: 30.58
Total: 93.00

Shenandoah Valley School District employed 1.10 district administrators and 3.50 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 1.10
District Administrative Support: 5.00
School Administrators: 3.50
School Administrative Support: 4.00
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 24.00
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 1.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 3.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 0.00
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 4.40
Other Support Services: 49.00

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Shenandoah Valley School District operates two schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Shenandoah Valley El Sch692PK-6
Shenandoah Valley Jshs5397-12


About school boards

Education legislation in Pennsylvania

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Pennsylvania
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External links

  • Office website
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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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