At hand: A new school funding formula
Building on the work of the General Assembly to identify the level of resources needed to meet Pennsylvania's academic goals for students, Governor Rendell has outlined a new school funding formula that incorporates the principles of adequacy, equity, efficiency, accountability and predictability.
The operating premise of the funding formula is that the General Assembly's costing-out study must serve as the benchmark for calculating each school district's adequacy target, taking into account factors like enrollment figures, numbers of low income students and English language learners, district size and regional cost differences. (Special education continues to be handled through a seperate line item). See the detailed plan by clicking on this link.
The formula then calculates the gap between what is available and what is still needed to reach adequacy, and assesses local wealth and tax burden to determine the state share.
The proposal also includes measures to ensure that new resources are used in ways that best lead to improvements for students, such as extended school day, smaller classes, pre-K and full-day kindergarten, and qualified teachers and principals.
Rendell is proposing that the state invest $2.6 billion over the next six years to help all school districts reach their adequacy targets, with a downpayment of $291 million in the 2008-09 budget.
As the governor said during his address to the General Assembly, "I have incorporated the study's findings and recommendations into this budget because they help protect the historic progress we have made so far, and because they offer what may be our best chance in a generation to adequately fund public education in Pennsylvania."
We now have an historic opportunity to improve the educational opportunities for thousands of Pennsylvania students.
Send an email to your legislators telling them that there is no more important priority this spring than for the General Assembly to enact a permanent school funding formula and fully fund it in six years with at least $2.6 billion in additional state funds.
Read the legislation that would enable the new school funding formula: House Bill 2449 and Senate Bill 1338.
Update: Senate Appropriations Committee passes Senate Bill 1389, a bill that would slash funding in the education budget and derail the enactment of a new school funding formula.