Legislators Grapple with Proposed Education Cuts, Philosophy Change

The end of the federal stimulus funds and an apparent philosophical shift within the state Department of Education have combined to make this year a difficult one for school districts across Pennsylvania.

Now, lawmakers are struggling to understand how school district funding changes will impact the budget this year, and educational special interests are wondering how Gov. Tom Corbett’s plans for public education will play out during the next four years. 

In the short term, the end of stimulus funds drove Corbett's call for a $1.3 billion cut in basic education funding from the state budget this year. Although state taxpayer funding for K-12 schooling is actually increasing by about $200 million, it is more than canceled out by the $1.4 billion drop in federal funds. 

State Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said basic education funding received year-over-year increases during the administration of former Gov. Rendell and was shielded from the recession by the addition of stimulus funds. 

“Now that the stimulus money is gone, this is the first time they’ve had to deal with it,” Corman said. “We’re still concerned some districts took significant reductions, which we’d like to see if we can do something about.” 

But while the end of the stimulus was anticipated and understood, the policy changes being pursued by the Corbett administration have left a few lawmakers scratching their heads and seeking more information. 

Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis is charting a new course for state funding of public education  and making a clear break from the policies of the Rendell administration. Tomalis has said publicly that he does not believe more money necessarily equals better performance. And, he has advocated for policies that allow state funding to “follow the child” rather than being tied to a specific school district. 

During a March budget hearing with the state House Appropriations Committee, Tomalis said he had “serious reservations” about elements of the state’s costing-out study--a key element of education funding during the Rendell administration that determined the basic formula for how state education dollars are dispersed. 

While this year’s proposed basic education subsidy amount makes it clear the administration has changed the funding formula, the new model has yet to be revealed to lawmakers, who must approve the state budget by June 30. 

Eileen Flinn, executive director for state Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-Chester, minority chairman of the Senate Education Committee, characterized the Corbett administration as “not very forthcoming” when it comes to specific information on their new budget policies. 

State Rep. Mario Scavello, R-Monroe, said he does not understand why the five school districts in his district are losing money this year after seeing only modest increases from the stimulus. He pressed Tomalis for answers during the budget hearing, but is still waiting to see the formula. 

Scavello said he would be unable to vote for the administration’s education initiatives until he better understood the funding structure. 

The administration has continued to deflect questions about the direction of future education budgets. 

“Since this is the first budget the governor has proposed, it’s going to depend on the course of the negotiations,” said Tim Eller, spokesperson for the Department of Education. “(Whether) it’s a long-term position taken from the administration, or if it’s just this year.” 

Even if the cuts are only for this year, they could negatively impact education for years to come, said Thomas Gentzel, executive director of the Pennsylvania School Board Administrators, an organization of public school boards. 

“With the big loss of state funding in particular, they’re looking (to cut) all sorts of instructional programs, particularly if they’re not mandated,” Gentzel said. “Foreign languages, all-day kindergartens...in many cases are being put on the chopping block, not because boards want to do it, but because they don’t have many other choices.” 

David Broderic, spokesman for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, the state’s largest teachers’ union, said union members are actively working with the Legislature to prevent the kind of cuts presented in this year’s budget, even if only for this year. 

“Our members are very active in discussing this with their legislators and making it clear what the reality of these proposed cuts is,” said Broderic. “The reality is (this): cuts to programs that work for our students, increases in class sizes and increased property taxes--in many cases all three." 

The PSEA has endorsed the Corbett administration’s suggestion that school districts freeze teachers’ pay for one year in order to save an estimated $400 million. 

State Rep. Douglas Reichley, R-Berks, also pointed to the possibility of increased property taxes to pay for the state-level cuts. 

“I think the Legislature’s always going to be under a significant amount of pressure to maintain consistent level of funding for basic education to the school districts because of the indirect pressure a reduction places on school districts to raise property taxes,” Reichley said. 

Tomalis told lawmakers in March that the Corbett administration’s philosophy would force local officials to have greater control over their costs and spending. 

Ronald Cowell, president of the Education and Policy Leadership Center, a Harrisburg-based education lobbying group, said he had never seen “such an enormous public backlash” to an education funding proposal made by a governor.

“But again, this is unprecedented so it’s not surprising there’s an unprecedented backlash coming from citizens across that state,” said Cowell. 

According to a recent Franklin and Marshall College poll, 70 percent of Pennsylvania Republicans and 85 percent of Pennsylvania Democrats opposed the cuts to public education. 

Eric Boehm contributed to this report.