Corbett Funding Plan for Schools Worries Educators (PA)
February 7, 2011
Gov. Tom Corbett has made a move to replace $337.8 million in state education dollars wi th federal education funds.
The move won’t leave school districts with less money than has already been allocated in the 2010-11 state budget.
However, it will mean that nearly $1 billion of this year’s state education budget is supported by federal funding that may not be available in the future.
Jim Buckheit, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators, said it is impossible to tell the full impact of Mr. Corbett’s move until the governor delivers his budget proposal next month.
"We don’t know what the governor will propose in his budget for next year. That will be an indicator of what the future brings," said Mr. Buckheit.
However, Mr. Buckheit said, "It puts the commonwealth and the school districts into a serious hole of nearly $1 billion which I don’t think anybody believes will be filled."
The $337.8 million is most of the state’s $387 million allocation from the federal Education Jobs Fund, known as Edujobs. While the president signed the bill in August, the state Legislature has not yet allocated the money but must do so by June 30.
In a letter to the chairs of the House and Senate appropriations committee, Charles Zogby, secretary of the office of the budget, wrote that $364 million had been placed in budgetary reserve, including $337.8 million from basic education funding.
The other reductions were $25.7 million in Community and Economic Development and $669,000 in Environmental Protection.
"With this action, no school district will receive less funding than was originally included in the enacted budget signed by Gov. Rendell on July 6, 2010, including restoring $50 million in funding that was placed into budgetary reserve in August 2010," Charles Zogby, secretary of the budget, wrote to legislative leaders.
Mr. Zogby wrote that preliminary estimates forecast a state deficit of more than $4 billion for 2011-12.
The other federal money supporting basic education funding is $654.7 million in economic stimulus money, which is not expected to be renewed. It accounts for about 11 percent of the $5.7 billion the state is spending on the basic education funding this year.
Mr. Buckheit said that some school district officials were hoping to be able to use the Edujobs money next school year to soften the blow of the loss of federal economic stimulus money.
EduJobs money has certain federal restrictions in how it can be spent. It cannot be spent on central office operations, but it can be spent on salaries that are related to employees who provide instructional services.