SOLANCONEWS.com -- Urban, Rural and Suburban Municipal and School Leaders Support Governor Rendell’s Call for New School Funding Formula

Urban, Rural and Suburban Municipal and School Leaders Support Governor Rendell’s Call for New School Funding Formula
HARRISBURG -- School and elected officials from across Pennsylvania Tuesday told Governor Edward G. Rendell that they want the General Assembly to enact a school funding formula law that invests at least $2.6 billion over the next six years to help close the school funding shortfall identified in the legislature’s Costing-Out Report.

“Helping our children to succeed and securing our future economic strength depends on the availability of quality schools, and it is time for the state to pay its fair share,” Governor Rendell said at an event held by urban, rural and suburban municipal and school leaders. “A key strategy for long-term property tax relief and improving the quality of education is for the General Assembly to adopt a school funding plan that permanently reduces the pressure on local property tax increases. When the state lives up to its responsibility, we take the burden off of local taxpayers and put new resources in the classroom.”

“Improving the quality of our schools is the most important economic development strategy for the future of our city,” said Erie Mayor Joseph E. Sinnott. “Governor Rendell is proposing a plan to give our local schools the resources they need so we can ensure that all of our children emerge from school prepared and ready to succeed. For the sake of Erie, we are calling on the General Assembly to enact the Governor’s school funding plan before it recesses for the summer.”

Governor Edward Rendell’s proposed education budget calls for investing at least $2.6 billion over the next six years to make progress in closing school funding shortfalls identified in the General Assembly’s Costing-Out Report. Urban, rural and suburban municipal and school leaders who back the plan stressed the need for the state to adopt a predictable and adequate long-term funding formula.

Released last year, the General Assembly’s Costing-Out Report shows that Pennsylvania’s schools need additional resources. For example, the current shortfall of $2,164 per pupil in the Towanda Area School District makes it impossible for it to deliver a quality education. For the Towanda Area School District, the Governor’s plan means a projected new state investment of $2.7 million by 2014, a 47 percent increase in state basic education funding. It would take a 40 percent increase in local property taxes to generate the same revenue.

The Towanda Area School District would use its new state funds over the next six years to invest in proven programs such as maintaining small class sizes, enhancing and upgrading technology, creating new courses to prepare students for success after they graduate and emphasizing proficiency in reading, math and language arts.

“The General Assembly took an important first step by ordering Pennsylvania’s first-ever Costing-Out Report, which calculated the level of resources needed in each school district for students to succeed,” said Towanda Superintendent Diane Place. “The next step is for the General Assembly to put the Governor’s school funding proposal into law as part of this year’s budget, ensuring that we receive the resources our schools need to produce the citizens and workers of our city’s future.”

“Failure to act has real economic costs. As a locally elected official, I understand that if the state refuses to live up to its responsibility, then the burden falls to local taxpayers – which in turn hinders our economic growth,” said Bradford Mayor Tom Riel. “The best strategy for long-term property tax relief is for the state to increase funding for our schools.”

Governor Rendell said the 6-year plan to increase the state’s basic education investment by $2.6 billion would use a three-step, annual formula:

1. Calculate the adequacy target for every school district. Governor Rendell’s proposal starts with the formula recommended by the General Assembly’s Costing-Out Report for determining an adequate level of regular education school funding in each school district.

2. Calculate the state share of each school district’s adequacy gap. Once each school district’s adequacy target is determined, it is compared to the district’s actual spending. The difference is the district’s adequacy gap. Governor Rendell’s proposal phases in each school district’s state investment towards adequate funding over six years. The level of state funding is determined by adjusting each school district’s total gap to reflect the level of local wealth and the district’s existing tax burden.

3. Ensure that new resources increase educational services for students. The Governor’s proposal ensures that taxpayers will have confidence that these significant new resources are being used for the most effective strategies for boosting student achievement. Any school district that receives a basic education funding increase that is more than the Act 1 inflation index (4.4 percent for 2008-09) is required to spend the portion of its increase above the index for proven school improvement strategies, including:

More time and support for students to learn;

Smaller classes;

Pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten;

A strong curriculum and teacher training; and

Effective teachers, principals and superintendents.

Comprehensive information about the Governor’s funding plan may be found at www.pde.state.pa.us. Choose the icon for “Proposed 2008-2009 Education Budget,” or contact the Department of Education’s communications office at 717-783-9802.

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