Local educators react to Rendell’s budget
Dr. Charles Chandler Jr. said he was glued to Tuesday’s television broadcast of Gov. Ed Rendell’s budget address. “We have a lot riding on this proposal because of our financial situation in Belle Vernon Area, so we watched with great anticipation,” said Chandler, Belle Vernon Area’s superintendent.
First, Rendell proposed level funding for schools and then he took the money out altogether in an apparent effort to force debate on how the state pays for public education.
Finally, on Tuesday, he unveiled his “Plan for a New Pennsylvania,” which calls for cuts in property taxes to equal a raise in state funding at the same time he proposed a 2.5-percent increase in the basic education subsidy, special education and vocational education along with new money for programs like full-day kindergarten and smaller classes in kindergarten to third grade.
Highlighting the revenue side of Rendell’s proposal is a 34-percent hike in personal income tax and a call for legalization of slot machines at racetracks.
Chandler said he was “cautiously optimistic” that the governor’s budget will help the schools, and he was encouraged by the increase in the basic education subsidy as well as in the special education subsidy.
“The budget gives our constituents the possibility of some relief, and everything will not have to come out of property tax revenue, which is the only source of revenue over which we have any control,” he said, noting that he also was encouraged to see an elected official like Rendell “step up to the plate” for education funding reform.
Uniontown Area School District’s business manager, Floyd Geho, did not have a chance to catch any of the publicity on the governor’s budget but said the 2.5-percent increase in the subsidies is appreciated and better than level funding. But, he said it is not quite enough.
“We need at least 3 percent more each year just to maintain the status quo with all the contractual obligations and all the increases that occur during a normal year,” Geho said.
The school district has started gathering information for the budget preparation process, which Geho said does not get started in earnest until after the first of April. He said many changes take place between April and June with the district’s and the state’s budgets.
Albert Gallatin Area School District Superintendent Walter Vicinelly said his district started compiling requisitions and inventories some time ago but has yet to get down to budget meetings. What Rendell’s proposal means to A.G., Vicinelly said, still remains to be seen and he did not have a chance to review the details by Tuesday afternoon.
However, Vicinelly took Rendell up on an invitation to students to hear an education budget address today. He said he sent the information to building principals to give them the choice to broadcast the governor’s comments, which he expected to address the importance of education and the budget process.
Like Geho and Vicinelly, Carmichaels Area School District Superintendent James Zalar said he did not have an opportunity to review Rendell’s proposal and would still need some time to find out exactly what it would mean to his district.
However, Zalar was not surprised by the governor’s plans.
“Of course, we know his campaign promise was to reduce property taxes and give school districts that money in some other way. He said there would be a personal income tax increase and legalized gambling, so we knew he was going to do what he did,” Zalar said.
He said the exchange in state money for a reduction in property taxes does little to help school district finances.
“What we’re looking for is what we’ll get above and beyond the basic subsidy. The 2.5-percent increase is not a whole lot. We’ll have to see what that means in our budget,” he said.
Zalar said work has begun on the expenditure side of the school district’s budget for next school year, but the revenue remains unknown until the lawmakers pass their spending plan and the governor signs it.
Rendell last Thursday signed the 2003-2004 budget, which the General Assembly passed, but he vetoed the education line item, striking all $4 billion of the basic education subsidy from the spending plan. He also cut all the funding for Pennsylvania charter schools for the deaf and blind, special education, and approved private schools and community colleges, saying the funding was based on distribution provisions involving enrollment and cost data that could change.
He further cut an extra $25 million to the Philadelphia School District because it was a component of basic education funding.
It also remains to be seen what Rendell’s proposal means to a call from grassroots groups and some legislators for a new funding formula that would funnel money into the schools more equally across the state.
In his statements Tuesday, Rendell said property tax reform is only the beginning of his plan for education.
“I vetoed the entire basic education subsidy in the budget, which presents us with a unique opportunity. We can start over, and this time we can fund a comprehensive reform of public education that serves our children fully and fairly,” he said.
He said the 2.5-percent increase in the basic education subsidy was a start “just to keep pace with inflation.” He also talked about working with school officials to address growing pension costs and giving schools technical assistance for savings in management and productivity costs.
The property tax cut was a dollar-for-dollar exchange, with Rendell offering $1.5 billion for at least a 15-percent reduction in the property tax. Among other items, he offered $550 million in new funding for proven education programs and $50 million for a competitive grant program for science and technology labs.
He said the state would not give the school districts a blank check but that he would put forward a comprehensive accountability system that offers incentives and supports. He said schools that fail “will be restarted with new leadership, new teachers and new controls.”