Area schools to receive more state aid than expected
HARRISBURG – Area schools will receive increases in state aid for the upcoming year ranging between about 2 percent and 5 percent, under the state budget the Legislature enacted Saturday. The increases are substantially more than the 1-percent increase that Gov. Mark Schweiker had initially proposed in February. Many school boards had braced for the worst and factored only a 1-percent increase in state aid into their school districts’ budgets for the upcoming fiscal year.
School boards that underestimated state aid will be required to reopen their budgets and apply the unexpected funds, lawmakers said. School boards can use the extra money to decrease local property taxes, pay off debt or restore programs that were cut.
State aid for each of the state’s 501 school districts was determined using a formula. Every school district received at least a 2-percent increase. School districts that are academically troubled, poor, located in fast-growing or rural areas, or in another special category received extra funds.
On average, the state’s school districts received a 3.1-percent increase. Even with the extra funds, many school officials said they would still be forced to raise their district’s local property taxes. Because state aid accounts for only about one-third of the cost of public schools, a 3-percent state increase amounts to only 1-percent of the schools’ total budgets.
Education accounts for about half of the new $20.7 billion state budget, which goes into effect July 1. The budget was engineered by Republicans, who control the House, Senate and governor’s office. Democrats blasted the budget, saying it didn’t do enough for education in the state. Gov. Mark Schweiker signed the spending plan into law on Saturday.
Some other education budget highlights include the following:
– An average 1.5-percent increase in special education to school districts.
– Charter school reimbursement to school districts totaling $52.9 million.
– A 35-percent increase to school districts to transport non-public school students.
– An additional $82 million to Philadelphia to support a new city-state partnership to improve the performance of its troubled school district.
– A 3.5-percent increase to community colleges. Funds will be divided among the schools based on their enrollments.
Most school districts had to estimate how much money the state would give them for the upcoming fiscal year because their school boards finalized their budgets before the Legislature set its budget.
Leaders in the state Legislature had promised to give more money to schools than Schweiker had proposed. The House proposed a 2.85- to 4-percent increase and the Senate supported a 13 percent increase. But, many school boards decided to play it safe and just factored a 1-percent hike in state aid into their budget.
Schools officials have been accustomed to knowing how much state aid they’ll receive before they set their budgets for the upcoming fiscal year. In recent years, lawmakers often have passed budgets in May or even as early as April. But that was in the good days, when the economy was booming and the state government had a budget surplus.
With the state government facing a nearly $1.2 billion revenue shortfall and legislative leaders wanting to avoid a tax increase, next year’s budget will be a lean one. As a result, the budget process dragged out as lawmakers debated what programs to cut.