The Upper St. Clair School Board voted on Monday, Feb 20th, to abolish the USC International Baccalaureate (IB) Program. Key points about the Upper St. Clair IB Program include: In his State of the Union Address President Bush specifically endorsed the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program as part of his American Competitive Initiative (ACI) Upper St. Clair already has this innovative program as an option for students in our school district. Some School Board members want to eliminate the IB program because they feel it promotes anti-American values. No comprehensive study has been done to evaluate the impact on our entire community by discontinuing the IB Program. Offering the IB Program as an academic option sets our district apart. Eliminating it removes a marketing advantage we have when selling or evaluating our homes. Many, many families have specifically sought out and/or remain in Upper St. Clair because of the IB program. There is no proven tax relief advantage to eliminating the program. It is possible the costs are more than covered by tax revenue from families who specifically moved here for the program. Eliminating the program could put our students at a disadvantage in competing for prestigious college spots. Hundreds of students will be directly affected. The program has run successfully for seven years with extremely high parent and student satisfaction and increasing enrollment each year. The School Board is rushing the vote (only ONE week notice) without leaving adequate time for community input or a thorough decision making process. For a program that is in the best interests of our students and our community the School Board should take the time to evaluate the decision properly. Sign this petition to let our USC School Board know that we want to keep the IB Program and they should delay the vote on the IB Program until a full financial, educational and community impact analysis has been done. (Please don\'t sign the online petition if you have already signed a paper petition!)

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