Column on the Pa. School Funding Crisis

this column is about Erie, but the same issues apply in many Pa. School Districts.

http://www.eriereader.com/topics/feature/erie%E2%80%99s-school-budget-crisis

"That’s the reality of our city. Not all children in Erie have access to the same quality of education, to the same quality of facility. And that’s another problem with this year’s cutbacks: they affect schools in poorer neighborhoods harder. Those neighborhoods have more at-risk students. Their schools need to provide more individual attention to underachieving students, yet the cuts struck directly at the program -- Title I -- designed to help them.

We are in the midst of a school-budget crisis. Last year, the Erie School District was looking at a $26-million deficit entering the 2011-12 school year. This year, even after massive cuts and layoffs, the district is estimating a $10-million deficit for the 2012-13 school year.

...Instead of filling that hole, Corbett’s administration proposed an additional cut of $1.2 billion for education, mostly from major grant programs, according to a report from The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center. Programs affected included the Educational Assessment Tutoring program, School Improvement Grants, and reimbursements to school districts for students moving to charter schools. The Pennsylvania Assembly restored some money for education, but the final budget still included $860 million in cuts to education, including a $550-million cut from basic K through 12 funding.

The end of federal grant money and cuts in state education funding hit the Erie School District hard. According to the school district’s preliminary budget for 2011-12, Erie lost $7.3 million in federal funding, as well as $6.8 million in state revenue. Combined, that meant the Erie School District began planning for the upcoming 2011-12 fiscal year more than $14 million short on revenue."