Proposed boost in state education funding
Lancaster County's public schools are due for a whopping 8.5 percent increase in state funds — an extra $14 million — in next year's budget.
But school district officials aren't ready to break out the champagne.
They're still smarting from the 101-day standoff that preceded the adoption of this year's state budget.
That delay held up the release of millions in state education funds and forced school business managers to play a guessing game on how much money they'd get from the state.
In the end, most districts received amounts close to those proposed eight months earlier by Gov. Ed Rendell.
This year, school officials are adopting a wait-and-see approach to Rendell's 2010-11 budget proposal, which was released Tuesday.
The $29 billion spending plan includes a $354 million boost in basic education funding, but no increases in funding for special education and other programs.
Still, the hikes proposed by Rendell are the biggest in years, ranging from 3.23 percent for Pequea Valley School District to 21.45 percent for Conestoga Valley.
Overall, state basic education funding for county schools would increase by 8.5 percent next year, compared with 5.17 percent in 2009-10.
The 2010-11 spending plan would send more than $216 million to the county's public schools in the form of basic and special-education funds and accountability block grants.
Like special-education funds, those grants, which cover such things as all-day kindergarten programs, teacher training and tutoring, have been frozen at 2009-10 levels.
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CV's hefty increase came as a surprise to Kim Seldomridge, the district's director of administrative services.
"We're optimistic and pleased with the initial presentation, but we're also … somewhat realistic, based on what happened last year," he said.
"Whether or not these numbers pan out is yet to be seen. I can't believe that, with the harsh realities of the state revenue situation, we won't have a similar (budget) battle this year."
The 21.45 percent bump in funding would mean an additional $588,422 for CV.
But that money would be offset by the $400,000 to $500,000 increase in special-education costs CV expects to incur next year, Seldomridge said.
And, like all districts, CV will face a 72 percent hike in payments — an additional $400,000 in CV's case — to the Public School Employees Retirement System next year.
School District of Lancaster also fared well in Rendell's budget proposal, with a projected 11.46 percent funding boost.
The extra $5.5 million could fill a funding gap and help the district slash its proposed preliminary budget tax hike from 13.97 percent to about 5.8 percent, said Matt Przywara, chief financial officer.
That, however, still exceeds the 4.1 percent limit imposed on the district under Act 1.
Like most other school systems in Lancaster County, SDL is seeking exceptions from the state to allow it to exceed its Act 1 index.
Manheim Township plans to stay within its 2.9 percent index next year, chief operating officer Joe Kurjiaka said, and the projected boost in state funding will help — if it materializes.
The district is in line for a 12.08 percent hike, an additional $533,523.
"I've got to give the governor credit," Kurjiaka said. "He's putting money into education even in these tough times, and we appreciate that.
"The question is, can I count on it or not? Will I know by June 30 so I can make my (millage) recommendation to the school board?"
June 30 is the date by which the state is supposed to approve its budget, but the Legislature has failed to make the deadline the past seven years.
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Penn Manor superintendent Mike Leichliter said his district will use its proposed $893,029 increase to help fill a $4 million gap in revenue needed to pay for such fixed costs as pension contributions, salaries and utilities in 2010-11.
He's wary of Rendell's proposal to include $655 million in federal stimulus grants in the education budget — grants that are scheduled to expire at the end of next year.
"If you take out those federal stimulus funds and if you take a look at what the next governor is going to have to do to just to stay even with where we are now … I am very concerned," he said.
Rendell has proposed establishing a transition fund to replace expiring stimulus money with revenue from an expanded sales tax.
Under his proposal, the 6 percent sales tax would be cut to 4 percent and expanded to cover 74 services and goods that are now exempt.
The proposal would generate an additional $850 million in revenue per year, Rendell said.
But leaders of the state Senate's Republican majority have already declared the proposal dead on arrival.
For the second year in a row, Rendell's education budget in based on a 2007 "costing-out" study that found schools were spending $4.4 billion less per year than they should be spending to adequately educate all students.
Rendell has vowed to narrow that gap over six years with $2.6 billion in new state funding.
The 2010-11 budget is Rendell's last before he leaves office at the end of the year.