#3 Reason to Love my Town

Remember, you have journeyed with me to my little Pennsylvania town. It is tucked into the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, and is hugged by the great Allegheny River.  Steeped in history, I can see four flags flying outside of my window, representing the four entities whom have owned this territory:  The Seneca Nation, The French, The British, and now, The United States of America.

So, we are on Reason #3 that I love this town.

First the bad news. We were very concerned to move here. There is a lot of information on-line about the schools.  Population has been decreasing for the past decade, resulting in several neighborhood schools closing. You know how sad that makes a neighborhood, right?   There has been a budget crunch, and it seems more schools need to be closed. This is a very large county, with 5 high schools, all in the same school district. To bus some of the rural kids in to the city would cost a lot of time and money. No one likes to bus kids that far. The schools have to raise money for sports and uniforms. There's just not a lot of extra $$, and the future isn't looking any better.

We almost didn't move here because of the schools. Our system in Arkansas seemed to have an endless supply of $$.

But, you hang around town long and here is what happens:  you meet a mom of an MIT grad. You see a Harvard sticker on a lady's car window.  You hear of the Notre Dame grad doing well. Etc. Etc.

It seems the education here is really good, despite the money woes.

So, reason #3 is that the schools are good. They may not be what they used to be, but they are solid and will help my kids get where they want to go.

It is a good feeling.