Saville Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania

Saville Township is a second-class township in a mountainous part of Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2010 census, the township had a total population of 2,502.[3] It was founded in 1817, dividing from Tyrone Township while the area was still part of Cumberland County. It is served by two major roads, PA 74, locally called Veterans Way, and PA 17, called the Tuscorara Path. The county office is at 3954 Veterans Way, in Elliottsburg, in the far southern part of the township.[4] The area is overwhelmingly agricultural, with small population centers in Ickesburg and the hamlet of Saville.

Saville Township, Pennsylvania
Township
Saville Covered Bridge
Map of Perry County, Pennsylvania highlighting Saville Township
Map of Perry County, Pennsylvania
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Perry
Settled	1755
Incorporated	1817
Area [1]
• Total	45.99 sq mi (119.12 km^2)
• Land	45.92 sq mi (118.94 km^2)
• Water	0.07 sq mi (0.17 km^2)
Population  (2010)
• Total	2,502
• Estimate  (2016)[2]	2,501
• Density	54.46/sq mi (21.03/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code(s)	717
FIPS code	42-099-68032

History

The Kochendefer Covered Bridge and Saville Covered Bridge are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[5]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 46.0 square miles (119.2 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
2010	2,502		—
Est. 2016	2,501	[2]	0.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 2,204 people, 796 households, and 609 families living in the township. The population density was 47.9 people per square mile (18.5/km²). There were 984 housing units at an average density of 21.4/sq mi (8.3/km²). The racial makeup of the township was 98.37% White, 0.68% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.64% of the population.

There were 796 households, out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the township the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.5 males.

The median income for a household in the township was $39,975, and the median income for a family was $44,922. Males had a median income of $32,352 versus $22,336 for females. The per capita income for the township was $16,454. About 6.1% of families and 8.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 6.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Map of Perry County, Pennsylvania School Districts

Residents of Saville Township may attend the local, public schools operated by West Perry School District which provides full day kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2013, the District's enrollment declined to 2,482 students. In 2016, West Perry School District ranked 331st out of 493 public school districts for academic achievement of its pupils, by the Pittsburgh Business Times.[8] The 2016 graduation rate was just 86%.[9]

High School students and adults can attend the publicly funded Cumberland Perry Area Vocational Technical School which is located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. CPAVTA provides students training in the: construction and mechanical trades, culinary arts, health aids, computer technical careers and other fields. Students may also attend Capital Area Online Learning Association (CAOLA) online education programs. The service is operated by the Capital Area Intermediate Unit 15.

Saville Township residents may also apply to attend any of the Commonwealth's 13 public cyber charter schools (in 2015) at no additional cost to the parents. The resident’s public school district is required to pay the charter school and cyber charter school tuition for residents who attend these public schools.[10][11] By Commonwealth law, if the District provides transportation for its own students, then the District must provide transportation to any school that lies within 10 miles of its borders. Residents may also seek admission for their school aged child to any other public school district. When accepted for admission, the student's parents are responsible for paying an annual tuition fee set by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. In 2015, the tuition fees for West Perry School District were: elementary school - $7,145.66, high school - $9,606.12.[12]

Capital Area Intermediate Unit #15 provides a wide variety of services to children living in its region which includes Saville Township. Early screening, special education services, speech and hearing therapy and many other services like driver education are available. Services for children during the preschool years are provided without cost to their families when the child is determined to meet eligibility requirements.

Libraries

Community members have access to the Community Library of West Perry County in Blain; the Bloomfield Public Library which is located in New Bloomfield and to the statewide PA Power Library which is an online library funded with tax dollars through the state's annual education budget.

School aged residents may also attend the Capital Area School for the Arts which is an arts charter school located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Armstrong Valley Christian School is one of several private schools that are also available to the Township's residents.

Community college

Saville Township residents have access to Harrisburg Area Community College. People residing in the community fund HACC through an annual payment made by West Perry School District.[13] Twenty two local public school districts are required to contribute annually to HACC, regardless of whether any residents are attending the college. Full-time students from these districts, who attend HACC, pay $1,674 for 12 credit hours.

References

1. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Aug 14, 2017.
2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
3. "2010 Population Finder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
4. Perry County Municipal Information
5. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
6. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
7. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
8. Pittsburgh Business Times (April 12, 2016). "Chester County district leads statewide Honor Roll 2016".
9. PDE, Graduation rate by LEA and School, 2016
10. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2013). "Charter Schools".
11. Pennsylvania Department of Education (2013). "What is a Charter School?".
12. Pennsylvania Department of Education (May 2015). "Pennsylvania Public School District Tuition Rates".
13. cate McKissick (April 15, 2013). "Harrisburg school district OKs smaller HACC contribution amount for next year".