Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Smart Success Strategy – Investing and Stock NewsSmart Success Strategy – Investing and Stock News

Investing

Pennsylvania lawmakers continue to debate education funding as budget negotiations continue

A court’s ruling earlier this year that the way Pennsylvania funds public schools is unconstitutional helped make education spending one of the thorniest issues in state budget negotiations.

Along with a partisan divide over spending taxpayer money to help students attend private and religious schools, education funding has left the state’s 2023-24 spending plan incomplete.

The state government is approaching a second week without full spending authority, with the final OK on a $45 billion spending plan stymied over a dispute about creating a $100 million program to allocate state subsidies for students in the lowest performing districts to attend private or religious schools.

Complicating matters is the judge’s ruling, which ordered the Legislature and governor to fix the system but with no guidance about how — or how quickly — it should be done.

The budget still in limbo includes about $800 million for public education, significantly less than what Democrats wanted. The state’s poorest districts will split $100 million through a program designed to help them close some of the gap between them and more affluent districts.

‘Schools were unconstitutionally underfunded last year, this year, and they will be unconstitutionally underfunded next year,’ said Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, senior attorney for Public Information Law Center, which successfully pursued the school funding case.

Education advocates were hoping to see a significant down payment — about $2 billion — to start addressing the system’s shortcomings, as well as a plan to overhaul how the state funds its schools. The lawyers hoped to see it as planning begins for the next fiscal year.

‘We dug a hole for a number of years. It’s going to take us a number of years to dig out,’ Urevick-Ackelsberg said.

Some districts are ‘deeply in the hole, thousands of dollars per pupil short of where they need to be,’ and the $100-million split won’t get at the real change needed, said Bruce Baker, a University of Miami education professor who researches public school financing.

In other states with similar court rulings, action has not always been swift. But some states have managed to make sustained investments, said Maura McInerney, legal director for the Education Law Center, which also was involved in the funding lawsuit.

‘I think it takes a lot of political will and leadership,’ she said. ‘There is no reason to wait here.’

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro cautioned it would take time, and he said fully funding public schools was a priority. But he also voiced his support behind the Republican-controlled Senate’s school voucher program. And even if the vouchers don’t pass this cycle, the budget still gives increases for private education through a tax credit that largely benefits private schools.

House Republicans described the vouchers as a potential solution to the court’s decision, saying that the court left reform open to a variety of paths.

The voucher would give up to $10,000 to families to use for private school. An eligible student must attend one of the state’s 15% lowest-performing schools, based on standardized test scores, and come from a family that makes under 250% of the federal poverty level, or $75,000 for a family of four.

‘Its inclusion as part of this budget would lead to the most ambitious and beneficial school reform measure in decades,’ Minority Leader Rep. Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, said in a statement.

Cutler and the House Republicans took a lead role in defending the school funding case, litigating it for years before the judge ruled against their side.

Increasing public education funding alone ‘will leave many Pennsylvania students trapped in failing schools,’ Cutler said.

While Shapiro said he would use his line-item veto to kill the voucher program to keep from hitting an impasse last week, he pushed House Democratic leadership to considering alternatives, like vouchers and the tax credit program while working to reach constitutional compliance.

Even with that promise, Senate Republicans have called on Shapiro to sign the budget bill without nixing the program. They’re not without some leverage.

The chamber has adjourned until September, with key pieces of the budget unresolved. There is still legislation needed to direct how the money in the budget can be spent — including for some of Shapiro’s and House Democrats’ priorities.

<!–>

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

–>

Enter Your Information Below To Receive Latest News, And Articles.



    Your information is secure and your privacy is protected. By opting in you agree to receive emails from us. Remember that you can opt-out any time, we hate spam too!

    You May Also Like

    Editor's Pick

    The energy revolution is here to stay, and electric vehicles (EVs) have become part of the mainstream narrative. Despite geopolitical tensions and uncertainty, the...

    Editor's Pick

    Overview Mexico’s Sinaloa state hosts a number of prolific silver and gold mines, including McEwen Mining’s (TSX:MUX) El Gallo Complex, Americas Gold and Silver’s...

    Editor's Pick

    Uranium is an important energy sector commodity, and its rising value has attracted investor interest. 2023 has seen uranium prices solidly above the important...

    Investing

    A new survey shows that the presidential race between former President Donald Trump and President Biden is thin, but Biden faces a deficit in...

    Disclaimer: smartsuccessstrategy.com, its managers, its employees, and assigns (collectively “The Company”) do not make any guarantee or warranty about what is advertised above. Information provided by this website is for research purposes only and should not be considered as personalized financial advice. The Company is not affiliated with, nor does it receive compensation from, any specific security. The Company is not registered or licensed by any governing body in any jurisdiction to give investing advice or provide investment recommendation. Any investments recommended here should be taken into consideration only after consulting with your investment advisor and after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company.


    Copyright © 2024 smartsuccessstrategy.com