Updates on Corbett's Public School Funding Proposals

[JPZenger]

http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/back-to-the-budget/

Excerpt:

"... the Education Law Center (ELC) has found that PA. is one of only three states that does not use a modern funding formula. The study notes that, “PA. is a national outlier when it comes to following basic budgeting principles — accuracy, fairness, and transparency – that most states use when it comes to public school funding.” Our state government is not using an accurate student count when it calculates and distributes its education budget. It doesn’t recognize that it costs more to educate students with special needs, English language learners, or students living in poverty. Ironically, PA. did have a modern funding formula similar to what many other states use. But “that formula was mostly abandoned in 2011 and amended completely out of use last year by the state legislature.”

At the same time, a new report out this week from the PA. Budget and Policy Center finds that the keystone state is increasingly giving away its keys to corporations in the form of tax breaks. In just the past ten years, the cost of these tax breaks has “skyrocketed” – more than tripling “since 2003-04 from $850 million to just under $3.2 billion per year.” And the report notes that, “these tax cuts compete with state funding for schools, the state’s colleges and universities, early childhood education, and human services.”
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http://yinzercation.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/budget-with-a-but/

"Governor Corbett’s proposed budget increases the basic education subsidy by 1.7 percent. But he is holding that increase hostage to the specific pension changes that he wants to make for teachers and other public employees. While there is no doubt we need pension reform to deal with the looming crisis that will affect every single school district in the state, the Governor should not make education funding contingent on lawmakers approving the specific changes that he desires. He has actually promised to slash $175 million in overall state spending if he doesn’t get his way with pension reform – an amount that will entirely wipe out the $90 million increase he proposes for our schools."