Pennsylvania General
Energy Co. of Warren has made a $40,000 contribution to Pitt-Bradford that will allow more high school students to take
advantage of programs that allow them to earn college credit.
The contribution is made possible
through a tax credit program offered by the Pennsylvania Department of
Community and Economic Development.
Pitt-Bradford has two kinds of
programs in which students can earn both high school and college credits for
the same course, College in the High School and Bridges. Both programs will
benefit from PGE’s contribution.
“PGE is pleased to make a
contribution that will provide the direct benefit of improving educational
experiences to students in Pennsylvania’s Northern Tier counties, including a
dozen school districts and more than 450 high schoolers,” said President and
Chief Executive Officer Douglas E. Kuntz. “Pitt-Bradford is a great partner in
making the most of this important program and supporting students that are so
important to our future workforce.”
Donations from PGE and others have
allowed more students to take part in College in the High School, in which
students receive college credit for courses they take in high school. Twelve
districts with 466 students currently participate: Austin Area, Bradford Area,
Cameron County, Coudersport Area, Galeton Area, Northern Potter, Oswayo Valley,
Otto-Eldred, Ridgway Area, Smethport Area and St. Marys Area. Sheffield Area
Middle/High School is taking part for the first time this year.
Unlike
the Advanced Placement exam, which requires that students make a final score on
an AP test at the end of the semester or year, College in the High School
students follow the same syllabus as the students at Pitt-Bradford, cover the
same material and take the same final exam. Students have the added benefit of
studying a semester’s worth of college material over the course of an entire
academic year.
Courses
offered range from first-year math and composition to more specialized
first-year courses such as petroleum technology, cinema, geography, Spanish,
accounting, sociology and more.
The additional funding provided
through PGE and other local businesses has allowed Pitt-Bradford to reduce its
cost to students from a regular cost of $125 to $25 this year for College in
the High School. For the Bridges program, the regular total cost of $1,594 has
been reduced to $250 for the student, and his or her school district’s portion
has been eliminated.
PGE
has a 30-year history of successfully producing indigenous oil and natural gas
in the Appalachian Basin. The company uses the best available technologies and
management practices to develop wells in both conventional and unconventional
formations, with a focus on safety, partnerships and the protection of the
environment. PGE currently operates nearly 1,400 oil and natural gas wells in
Pennsylvania.
This
is PGE’s second year of support. The company contributed $35,000 in 2011.
PGE
made its contribution through a special state program that allows it to receive
tax credits for its gift. Companies have to pre-qualify with the state on a
strict schedule, as did Pitt-Bradford.
Interested
businesses that must pay certain types of taxes in the state of Pennsylvania
may qualify to redirect up to $300,000 of their PA tax liability to an approved
Educational Improvement Organization such as Pitt-Bradford. The taxes include
Corporate Net Income Tax, Capital Stock Franchise Tax, Bank and Trust Company
Shares Tax, Title Insurance Company Shares Tax, Insurance Premiums Tax, Mutual
Thrift Institutions Tax and some Subchapter S-corporations.
For
more information on whether a business may qualify for the Educational
Improvement Tax Credit Program, contact Rick Esch, vice president of business
affairs at Pitt-Bradford, at (814)362-0992 or esch@pitt.edu.
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