Impasse on funding for Pennsylvania universities could mean higher tuition
1 year, 5 months ago

Impasse on funding for Pennsylvania universities could mean higher tuition

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A partisan dispute about funding for three of Pennsylvania’s state-related universities may mean higher tuition for in-state students as a budget impasse continues further into the summer. Senators aren’t due back until September, and Pittman said the chamber “sees little value in returning to session” to give final approval to the plan without the legislation to direct how money in the budget bill can be spent. The uncertainty about state aid has thrown a wrench into the universities’ own budget planning and could result in the very thing that Republicans have criticized the schools for: increased tuition costs for students. The state funding supports the university’s 40,000 in-state students, “which thousands of Pennsylvania students and their families rely on each year,” a spokesperson said.

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History of this topic

Pennsylvania lawmakers pass nearly $48B budget almost 2 weeks late
5 months, 1 week ago

Pennsylvania lawmakers pass nearly $48B budget almost 2 weeks late

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania lawmakers ground through a flurry of votes Thursday to approve a budget deal, nearly two weeks into the new fiscal year after being slowed by disagreements during closed-door negotiations over Democrats’ push for more public schools aid. The $47.6 billion plan for the fiscal year that started July 1 represents a 6% increase over last year’s …

Pennsylvania schools would get billions more under Democratic plan passed by the state House
6 months, 1 week ago

Pennsylvania schools would get billions more under Democratic plan passed by the state House

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Democratic- The bill responds to a report issued in January that said Pennsylvania underfunds public school districts by more than $5 billion annually and recommended phasing in increases over several years. “This isn’t politics, this is a constitutional requirement, one that this body has failed for too long.” The measure also would impose a range of …

Pennsylvania Senate approves GOP’s $3B tax-cutting plan, over objections of top Democrats
7 months, 2 weeks ago

Pennsylvania Senate approves GOP’s $3B tax-cutting plan, over objections of top Democrats

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Republican lawmakers on Tuesday advanced legislation for a $3 billion tax cut, their just-unveiled counterproposal to Democratic Gov. They also said it lacks any help for public schools, considering last year’s court decision that found Pennsylvania’s system of funding public schools violates the constitutional rights of students in poorer districts. People want a good quality of life, …

Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers roll out higher ed plan built around grants and tuition discounts
8 months, 1 week ago

Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers roll out higher ed plan built around grants and tuition discounts

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania on Wednesday rolled out a counterproposal to Democratic Gov. Republicans also signaled that key elements of Shapiro’s higher education plan rolled out earlier this year are essentially dead in the Legislature. And we hear constantly now from employers who are really ringing alarm bells.” Enrollments have been falling for years at Pennsylvania’s state-owned …

Pennsylvania governor to deliver budget while seeking money for higher education and public transit
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Pennsylvania governor to deliver budget while seeking money for higher education and public transit

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro is set to deliver a second budget proposal to Pennsylvania lawmakers on Tuesday with a firmer grasp on how he wants to pursue several top priorities, his state in a relatively strong fiscal position and lessons learned from last year’s ugly budget fight. He also wants to spend more money to attract major companies …

Governor eyes overhaul of Pennsylvania higher ed system that’s among the worst in affordability
10 months, 4 weeks ago

Governor eyes overhaul of Pennsylvania higher ed system that’s among the worst in affordability

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro plans next month to propose an overhaul of a higher education system in Pennsylvania that is among the worst in the nation in affordability, his administration said Friday. In his budget address last year, Shapiro said it is time “to rethink our system of higher education – because what we’re doing isn’t working.” The …

Democrats’ education funding report says Pennsylvania owes $5B more to school districts
11 months, 1 week ago

Democrats’ education funding report says Pennsylvania owes $5B more to school districts

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A commission reviewing how Pennsylvania distributes money to public schools narrowly approved a report Thursday that suggests the state is underfunding districts by more than $5 billion and should begin immediately to close that gap. A key recommendation in the report said the state should immediately begin to close a school funding gap of more than $5 …

GOP lawmakers sink aid to Penn as statehouses watch how universities are handling Israel-Hamas war
1 year ago

GOP lawmakers sink aid to Penn as statehouses watch how universities are handling Israel-Hamas war

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania defeated legislation to send $33.5 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school over criticism that the school has tolerated antisemitism, as statehouses across the U.S. eye how higher ed is handling tensions around the Israel-Hamas war. Annual state aid for Penn’s veterinary school normally draws strong bipartisan support in Pennsylvania’s Legislature and, …

Pennsylvania lawmakers defeat funding for Penn amid criticism over school’s stance on antisemitism
1 year ago

Pennsylvania lawmakers defeat funding for Penn amid criticism over school’s stance on antisemitism

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday night defeated legislation to send more than $33 million to the University of Pennsylvania’s veterinary school after the university’s president resigned amid criticism that the school has tolerated antisemitism. Magill resigned Saturday amid pressure from donors and criticism over testimony at a congressional hearing last week where she was unable to …

Pennsylvania lawmakers OK millions for universities, but feud over private and public school aid
1 year, 1 month ago

Pennsylvania lawmakers OK millions for universities, but feud over private and public school aid

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s Legislature on Wednesday approved hundreds of millions of dollars for universities after a fight that has dragged on five months into the fiscal year, although the politically divided body continued to feud over elements of school funding. Legislation to send just over $600 million to several higher education institutions passed both the House and Senate within …

Pennsylvania universities are still waiting for state subsidies. It won’t make them more affordable
1 year, 2 months ago

Pennsylvania universities are still waiting for state subsidies. It won’t make them more affordable

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Four of Pennsylvania’s universities are plugging budget gaps while they await hundreds of millions of dollars in aid that has been snarled in a partisan dispute among lawmakers in a state that has one of the nation’s most abysmal records for funding higher education. “And if you want to talk about things like freezes, you better get …

Pennsylvania schools face spending down reserves or taking out loans as lawmakers fail to act
1 year, 4 months ago

Pennsylvania schools face spending down reserves or taking out loans as lawmakers fail to act

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Some of Pennsylvania’s school districts may have to empty their reserves or take out loans to open for the fall semester because billions of dollars in state aid is held up in a month-old political stalemate. The district has been working with a deficit for 14 years, Iskric said, and there’s no funding to bridge the gap …

Pennsylvania budget still in turmoil over school vouchers and equity funding case
1 year, 5 months ago

Pennsylvania budget still in turmoil over school vouchers and equity funding case

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A court’s ruling earlier this year that the way Pennsylvania funds public schools is unconstitutional helped make education spending one of the thorniest issues in state budget negotiations. Along with a partisan divide over spending taxpayer money to help students attend private and religious schools, education funding has left the state’s 2023-24 spending plan incomplete. “Schools were …

Pennsylvania governor calls on divided Legislature to finalize budget past deadline
1 year, 5 months ago

Pennsylvania governor calls on divided Legislature to finalize budget past deadline

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro called on the Republican-controlled Senate on Thursday to return to the Pennsylvania Capitol to finalize a state spending plan, as the state government neared a week without full spending authority. Senate Republican leadership criticized him for lacking “enough respect and standing within his own party to follow through with his promise.” Shapiro said …

Pennsylvania to begin new fiscal year without budget plan in place
1 year, 5 months ago

Pennsylvania to begin new fiscal year without budget plan in place

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Republicans who control Pennsylvania’s Senate passed spending legislation hours ahead of Saturday’s start of a new fiscal year, but they lacked agreement with the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives to keep state government’s full spending authority intact. The main budget bill in the Senate GOP’s $45 billion spending plan passed 29-21, a couple hours after it emerged Friday. …

What to Watch: Pennsylvania budget talks near deadline, and get contentious
1 year, 5 months ago

What to Watch: Pennsylvania budget talks near deadline, and get contentious

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Democratic Gov. But top Democratic lawmakers have long opposed what they call “private school vouchers” — including this program — and that has sowed doubts about whether Shapiro can secure a deal in the coming days. The massive reserves are easing spending decisions, while the court decision has emboldened Democratic lawmakers to demand far more money for …

Pennsylvania school allies criticize Shapiro’s budget plan
1 year, 9 months ago

Pennsylvania school allies criticize Shapiro’s budget plan

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Lawyers for the districts that won a landmark school funding court case in Pennsylvania say that Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal falls short of the financial commitments that are needed to help the state’s poorest school districts. “The moment calls for more.” A coalition of groups called Level Up said Shapiro should have set aside money just …

Public money for private school tuition bill advances
1 year, 9 months ago

Public money for private school tuition bill advances

Associated Press  

— Nebraska could join 48 other states in offering public money for private school tuition under a bill advanced by the state Legislature on Wednesday, even as some lawmakers expressed concern about taxpayer dollars going to private schools allowed to turn away students based on religious tenets. Rather than appropriating taxpayer dollars directly toward private school vouchers, the bill would …

Shapiro’s 1st Pennsylvania budget stresses schools, prudence
1 year, 9 months ago

Shapiro’s 1st Pennsylvania budget stresses schools, prudence

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Shapiro’s budget proposal comes as Pennsylvania keeps taking in robust tax collections, leaving it with billions in reserve, even as the administration faces demands for more money for schools, highways and social services. But, Shapiro said, he is also making “investments to build an economy that works for everyone, to create safe and healthy communities, to …

Senate signs off on Pennsylvania’s delayed main budget bill
2 years, 5 months ago

Senate signs off on Pennsylvania’s delayed main budget bill

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Lawmakers overwhelmingly passed the main Pennsylvania state budget bill Friday, more than a week after it was due — a plan fattened by federal stimulus cash and unusually robust state tax collections. Big winners were public schools, environmental programs and long-term care facilities, but the budget also will leave some $5 billion in the state’s rainy day …

Board passes 4th year of state universities’ tuition freeze
2 years, 8 months ago

Board passes 4th year of state universities’ tuition freeze

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Students at Pennsylvania’s state-owned universities won’t see tuition increase next year under a unanimous vote Thursday by the the system’s board. The State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors passed what will be the fourth year of flat tuition, as the struggling system hopes the Legislature will approve hundreds of millions in additional funding in the …

School districts’ lawsuit over state funding heads to trial
3 years, 1 month ago

School districts’ lawsuit over state funding heads to trial

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A lawsuit that could result in drastic changes to how Pennsylvania funds public education goes to trial Friday in a Harrisburg courtroom, seven years after a handful of the state’s districts first went to court to challenge a system they consider unfair. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre, one of the defendants, said in a statement …

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