In 2014 MDN told you about a rural school district in northeastern Pennsylvania–the Elk Lake School District in Susquehanna County–that had (gasp) drilled two Marcellus Shale wells right on the school campus (see Rural NE PA School Nets $1.7M in Royalties from 2 Marcellus Wells). Not only does that tiny school district still rake in the royalties, they also heat with natural gas (see Elk Lake School LOVES Their 2 Marcellus Shale Wells & Gas Heat). Now comes word that Elk Lake SD is in an elite group–recognized by U.S. News & World Report as among the top 6,041 “Best High Schools in America” for 2017. The U.S. News rankings look at data on more than 22,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Schools were awarded gold, silver or bronze medals based on their performance on state assessments and how well they prepare students for college. Elk Lake made the cut–getting a bronze award–putting them in the top tier of schools in the country. We mention it for two reasons: (1) The revenue Elk Lake gets from their gas wells, and from saving money on heating with gas, is likely a big contributor to Elk Lake’s success; and (2) other school districts, like the Mars School District in Butler County, PA (adamantly opposed to shale drilling 3/4 of a mile away) can learn something from Elk Lake…
