Penn Hills needs oversight

information in an investigation into the district’s financial practices.

A Department of Education spokeswoman said Wednesday that the department does not provide an opinion about whether a school district should enter the financial recovery program. In an email, J.J. Abbott, spokesman for Gov. Tom Wolf, said: “The Department of Education will review Representative DeLuca’s request and determine how best to proceed.”

The only districts in the state’s recovery program are Chester-Upland, Duquesne, Harrisburg and York City.

Ms. Hines said that while the school district has its challenges, the Moody’s rating agency and an independent auditor agree that the district is making progress. She said she gets the impression that the district attorney is leading a “very, very thorough investigation.”

Ms. Hines said she was not sure how state oversight would benefit the community.

“Harrisburg has been helping us with consultations,” she said. “I am concerned that the idea of handing over the district . . .to the state could involve the loss of some very significant, very important, very beloved programs that our district has been fighting tooth and nail to hold on to.”

Mr. DeLuca previously asked the education secretary in January 2016 to consider placing the Penn Hills district under state control as part of the financial recovery program. “We have to make sure we bring Penn Hills back to where it was,” he said. “That’s the backbone of our community. This municipality will go up or down depending on the school district.”