Charleroi Seeks State Aid For Surge In Immigrant Students

CHARLEROI, Pa. — (WPXI) – Charleroi historically was a mill town that felt the impact of a shrinking industry; but the last two years, this town’s population is exploding again. “I speak French, Creole, Portuguese, Spanish and English,” said Kervens Lerantis. He is only in the fourth grade. He’s just one of 172 English Language Learners (ELL) in the Charleroi Area School District. Many of whom never spoke the language before stepping foot in Washington County. The immigrant population has grown in this community by over 2,000% in just the last two years, bringing new challenges for the school district. “Just in the last year we had over $400,000, we had to add two ELL teachers, an ELL coach for our teachers, a registrar, an interpreter,” said Superintendent Dr. Ed Zelich. With the growth, the district is looking at another $300,000 on top of that next year. This is the highest-taxed district in the county. Dr. Zelich said increasing taxes isn’t an option, so he’s looking to the state for help. So far, the state has only offered after-school and summer tutoring, which Zelich said doesn’t even scratch the surface. The buildings are running out of space, forcing some Pre-K classes to leave the building and classroom size to grow where nearly half the lower grades are already full of multiple languages. The district has brought the PA Department of Education in and local lawmakers, but still can’t seem to get the financial help they need. The superintendent told Channel 11 he’s going to continue knocking on their doors because he knows the growth is not stopping here.