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

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Equity & Diversity Webinar
Classroom Strategies for Building Equity and Student Confidence
Shape equity, confidence, and success for your middle school students. Join the discussion and Q&A for proven strategies.
Content provided by Project Lead The Way
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Disrupting PD Day in Schools with Continuous Professional Learning Experiences
Hear how this NC School District achieved district-wide change by shifting from traditional PD days to year-long professional learning cycles
Content provided by BetterLesson
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.

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 A Surge in Funding for Homeless Students Is Waning. What Now?
COVID homeless aid helped schools locate more families and connect them to services. Advocates want to make the increase permanent.
3 min read
A young boy reaches into the open door of a school bus to grab a plastic bag of food handed to him by an adult.
A Jefferson County School District student receives several bags with free meals in Fayette, Miss.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP
Education Funding 4 Ways States Are Trying to Fix How They Fund Schools
Advocates in many places are pushing for reforms that precisely target more robust aid to schools and students in need.
6 min read
one woman and two men with a large calculator and next to large stacks of bills and coins.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Education Funding Pennsylvania School Funding Is Unconstitutional, Judge Says. Here's What Could Happen Next
An appeal could be on the way, but advocates are already gearing up to make the case for funding reform.
6 min read
Stock image of a gavel on top of a pile of money.
iStock/Getty Images
Education Funding 6 Lawsuits That Could Shake Up How States Pay for Schools
Far removed from annual budgets, these lawsuits hold the potential to force states to direct more funds to their schools.
6 min read
Large white hand holding a weighing scale with a bag of money on one side and books with floating letters on the other side showing a balance of knowledge and money
iStock/Getty