Education Funding

Pa. Budget Stalemate Squeezes Districts as Schools Open

By The Associated Press — September 08, 2015 3 min read
Gov. Tom Wolf and the legislature are locked in a fight over the state budget that has school systems scrambling over funding.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Pennsylvania’s budget impasse continued to put pressure on local schools last week, with some districts leaning on loans and reserves to fund their schools without money from the state, and with teachers and support staff in one poor district heading back to work without any assurance they would be paid.

A new state budget was due July 1. But Republicans who control the state legislature and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf remained at odds last week over issues including how to cut property taxes that provide the biggest source of public school revenues, and over public pensions and liquor sales.

Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, the state’s elected fiscal watchdog, on Sept. 1 cited a survey by the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials that showed many school districts are considering tapping their reserves, delaying vendor payments or taking out short-term loans as the 2015-16 school year begins with state subsidies frozen.

“It is somewhat ironic that the fight over more funding for education is actually costing school districts money,” DePasquale said.

Carlie Chludzinski, 7, left, and Aubrey Pierce, 6, arrive on the first day of classes for the Harbor Creek school district in Pennsylvania.

The House and Senate are not set to return to the Capitol until later this month. In the meantime, Wolf shifted strategy last week, holding private meetings Sept. 1 with top Republican lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman and House Majority Leader Dave Reed.

Reed spokesman Steve Miskin said he did not believe that Wolf gave the Republicans an answer on their two-week-old offer to meet a key demand of Wolf’s to boost public school aid, even if it requires a tax increase. That offer came with the condition that Wolf support the Republican push to end the traditional benefit for most employees in Pennsylvania’s two big public pension systems by directing them into 401(k)-style retirement plans.

Wolf has opposed such a change, although he has expressed a willingness to consider limiting how much of an employee’s salary would count toward a traditional pension benefit.

Long-Running Battle

On June 30, Wolf vetoed the Republican majority’s $30.2 billion budget bill hours after it passed without support from a single Democratic lawmaker. Meanwhile, Republicans balked at Wolf’s $31.6 billion budget plan, saying it would require the biggest tax increase in Pennsylvania history.

In the Chester Upland school district, just south of Philadelphia—which said it could not meet a scheduled payroll on Sept. 9 amid the stalemate—teachers and support staff, including bus drivers and secretaries, voted Aug. 27 to continue working even if they were not paid.

“We’ve always put our students first, and we always will,” said Michele Paulick, president of the Chester Upland Education Association, the district teacher’s union.

Chester Upland said in January 2012 that it couldn’t afford to pay employees, but the state used emergency funds to keep the schools open. All told, the state has given the district more than $74 million in one-time emergency funds in the past five years to keep it operating, according to the Wolf administration.

Chester Upland, which is under state oversight, served about 3,400 students last year, and another 3,800 attended charter schools, according to state data. Its approved budget for the year is about $133 million, about half of which ends up going to charter schools. Most of the district’s revenue comes from the state government, largely because of the district’s poverty.

In the Pittsburgh region, the Sto-Rox school district’s board of directors approved a line of credit Aug. 20 to pay staff and continue operations beyond September, Superintendent Terry A. DeCarbo said. The district borrowed about $7 million to cover payroll through the first of the year.

Wilkinsburg is relying on property tax revenue to carry its payroll. It has enough to pay employees through September at least, said Superintendent Daniel Matsook. The Brentwood Borough school district is relying on its fund balance to pay bills. Superintendent Amy Burch said without state funding, the district likely can support itself through December.

This story includes material from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, distributed by Tribune Content Agency.
A version of this article appeared in the September 09, 2015 edition of Education Week as Stalemate Over Pennsylvania Budget Puts Heat on Districts as Schools Open

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Funding Biden's Budget Proposes Smaller Bump to Education Spending
The president requested increases to Title I and IDEA, and funding to expand preschool access in his 2025 budget proposal.
7 min read
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on lowering prices for American families during an event at the YMCA Allard Center on March 11, 2024, in Goffstown, N.H. Biden's administration released its 2025 budget proposal, which includes a modest spending increase for the Education Department.
Evan Vucci/AP
Education Funding States Are Pulling Back on K-12 Spending. How Hard Will Schools Get Hit?
Some states are trimming education investments as financial forecasts suggest boom times may be over.
6 min read
Collage illustration of California state house and U.S. currency background.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Education Funding Using AI to Guide School Funding: 4 Takeaways
One state is using AI to help guide school funding decisions. Will others follow?
5 min read
 Illustration of a robot hand drawing a graph line leading to budget and finalcial spending.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding A State Uses AI to Determine School Funding. Is This the Future or a Cautionary Tale?
Nevada reworked its funding formula hoping to target extra aid to students most in need. What happened could hold lessons for other states.
13 min read
Illustration of robotic hand putting coins into jar.
iStock / Getty Images Plus