An application for a major subdivision or the creation of six or more lots on a single property shall include an educational impact study describing the impact of the proposed development on the educational system of the Township, as described in this section.
A. Required Information for the Educational Impact Study.
(1) Operating cost per student using the Pennsylvania Department of Education Form PD 2-2058, "Instructional Expense Computation," obtained from the New Hope-Solebury School District.
(2) School district millage rate (obtained from the Township Tax Collector).
(3) Assessment factor (100% of total assessment value).
(4) Current available capacity for elementary school (obtained from the New Hope-Solebury School District).
(5) Current available capacity for secondary school(s) (obtained from the New Hope-Solebury School District).
(6) Capital cost per student for providing new education facilities (obtained from the New Hope-Solebury School District).
(7) Debt constant to determine annual cost of borrowed capital funds (obtained from New Hope-Solebury School District).
B. Method of Determining Fiscal Impact on Educational System.
(1) School District Tax Revenue Generation. Multiply the total dollar value of the development by the assessment factor; multiply the result by the school district millage rate.
(2) Development-Generated Operating Costs. Multiply the number of school-age children to be generated by the operating cost per student.
(3) Development-Generated Capital Costs. If the number of school children generated exceeds the current capacity of the Township school(s), determine the development-generated capital costs of the new school facilities by multiplying the number of students over capacity by the capital costs per student for the new facilities. Multiply the result by the debt constant. This gives the annual debt service cost.
(4) Net Impact Assessment. Add the operating costs and capital costs generated by the project, and subtract that number from the school district tax revenue generation to determine the educational cost impact of the development proposal.
C. Standards and Criteria for Determining Additional Educational System Impact.
(1) The following standards shall be used in determining the operating costs per student:
(a) Classroom size of 20 students per classroom.
(b) Site size to conform to the standards mandated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.
(2) The existing school system (total elementary and secondary classroom and site size) shall be compared to the anticipated enrollment of the entire enrollment estimated from the proposed development and other approved but unbuilt developments.
(3) The Township shall not accept any educational impact statement prepared directly or indirectly for a developer by an employee or official of the local school district or the Township.
