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 for the state’s poorest school districts to more rapidly close the gaps between Pennsylvania’s poor and wealthy districts. A ruling last month in Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court found that the state’s roughly $34 billion school funding system violates the rights of students in the poorest school districts and directed Shapiro, lawmakers and the school districts that sued to develop a plan to fix it. Shapiro said Wednesday it should be viewed as a “two-step process” that includes the money he proposed in his new budget plan and then, next year, when he returns with his second budget plan.

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History of this topic

Josh Shapiro’s school voucher record gets renewed scrutiny as Harris seeks running mate
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Josh Shapiro’s school voucher record gets renewed scrutiny as Harris seeks running mate

Raw Story  

Thrust into the national limelight as a leading candidate to become Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential running mate, Gov. The conservative Commonwealth Foundation is airing a television ad starting this weekend in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., media markets that flips Shapiro’s “Get S**t Done” slogan on its head, claiming Shapiro “Ain’t got s**t done.” The ads are critical of Shapiro’s …

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 to begin new fiscal year without budget, as Shapiro, lawmakers express optimism
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Pennsylvania to begin new fiscal year without budget, as Shapiro, lawmakers express optimism

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Work by Pennsylvania lawmakers to complete a new budget was on track to blow into the new fiscal year, with Democratic Gov. For Shapiro, it will be his second straight budget that failed to get across the finish line by the constitutional deadline of July 1 in Pennsylvania’s politically divided government. The consequence of failing to get …

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 …

Gov. Shapiro seeks school-funding boost to help poorer districts, but Republicans remain wary
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Gov. Shapiro seeks school-funding boost to help poorer districts, but Republicans remain wary

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro is taking the first step in what is shaping up to be a complicated, yearslong process to respond to a court decision that found that Pennsylvania’s system of public school funding violates the constitutional rights of students in the poorest districts. The 14% increase reflects recommendations produced last month by Shapiro appointees and Democratic …

Pennsylvania governor seeks billions for schools and development in budget that envisions legal weed
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Pennsylvania governor seeks billions for schools and development in budget that envisions legal weed

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro ’s second budget proposes significant increases to education and economic development and would regulate adult use marijuana, while leaning heavily on Pennsylvania’s flush reserves to underwrite his vision. After a relatively modest first-year budget proposal, Shapiro returned in his second year with an admittedly “ambitious” $48.3 billion plan that marshals billions more for underfunded …

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 …

In 2024, Shapiro faces calls for billions for schools, a presidential election and wary lawmakers
11 months, 3 weeks ago

In 2024, Shapiro faces calls for billions for schools, a presidential election and wary lawmakers

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — In 2024, Democratic Gov. In the fall, Shapiro’s administration will be nationally watched for how it runs the presidential election, when Pennsylvania is yet again expected to be pivotal to the White House stakes. Last month in Iowa, Trump told supporters to “guard the vote” and to “go into” Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta to “watch those votes …

Shapiro says unfinished business includes vouchers, more school funding and higher minimum wage
1 year, 1 month ago

Shapiro says unfinished business includes vouchers, more school funding and higher minimum wage

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Monday that his list of unfinished business for the state Legislature includes passing a private school voucher program, increasing the minimum wage and approving bills to curb gun violence. “I consider this to be unfinished business, along with making sure we raise the minimum wage, along with passing statute of limitations reform, …

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’s Democratic governor, a rising political star, crosses partisan school choice divide
1 year, 2 months ago

Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, a rising political star, crosses partisan school choice divide

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — In the partisan politics of education funding, the school choice movement has pressed states for decades to send taxpayer money to private and religious schools and long had to concentrate its efforts on states where a Republican governor was an ally. Shapiro would later back down in the face of House Democratic opposition, but his support has …

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’s schools say victory in court is final and Legislature needs to increase funding
1 year, 5 months ago

Pennsylvania’s schools say victory in court is final and Legislature needs to increase funding

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Lawmakers should take action to address a now-final court ruling that Pennsylvania’s system of funding public schools violates the constitutional rights of students in poorer school districts, lawyers for the districts and groups that sued said Monday. The plaintiffs — including six school districts, the NAACP and the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools — want …

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 …

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 …

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 governor backs off $100M private schools program, eases House budget vote
1 year, 5 months ago

Pennsylvania governor backs off $100M private schools program, eases House budget vote

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday backed off his insistence on money for a new private-school funding program, giving the Democratic-controlled House the opening to approve a new state spending plan after a days-long stalemate in Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature. The holdup was primarily over education spending — including Shapiro’s support for a new $100 million program …

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. …

Pennsylvania budget agreement is elusive as fiscal-year deadline nears
1 year, 5 months ago

Pennsylvania budget agreement is elusive as fiscal-year deadline nears

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature appeared on track Thursday to start the state’s fiscal year without a spending plan in place, with closed-door talks yielding optimism from Republicans, but discontent from Democrats. Many Democratic lawmakers have muted their criticism of an emerging budget agreement between Republicans and Shapiro, but they say it doesn’t carry …

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 …

Growing budget fight in divided Legislature could test Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor
1 year, 6 months ago

Growing budget fight in divided Legislature could test Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania state lawmakers returned to session Monday for a weekslong slog to the budget deadline, as House Democrats advanced a spending plan that could test whether Gov. Within hours, House Democrats unveiled and passed a spending plan that goes well beyond what Shapiro requested for the year starting July 1, insisting on more money for public schools …

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 …

With court win, Pennsylvania schools want plan, down payment
1 year, 9 months ago

With court win, Pennsylvania schools want plan, down payment

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — When Pennsylvania Gov. “We think that this is an appropriate investment to start to address the scale of the problem we’re facing,” said Maura McInerney, legal director at Pennsylvania’s Education Law Center, which helped represent the school districts along with Public Interest Law Center and the O’Melveny & Myers law firm. A judge ruled in February that …

Win in court doesn’t assure more Pennsylvania school funding
1 year, 10 months ago

Win in court doesn’t assure more Pennsylvania school funding

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania is the latest state where the public school funding system was found to be unconstitutional, but the experience in other states suggests there’s no guarantee of swift, significant or longstanding change for the poorer school districts that sued in hopes of getting billions of dollars more for their budgets. In nearly every one of those cases, …

Poorer districts win challenge to Pa. public school funding
1 year, 10 months ago

Poorer districts win challenge to Pa. public school funding

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania judge ruled Tuesday that the state’s system of funding public schools falls woefully short and violates students’ constitutional rights, siding with poorer districts in a lawsuit launched nearly a decade ago in pursuit of billions of dollars in additional annual aid. Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer found that the state hasn’t fulfilled its constitutional …

Judge to decide if Pennsylvania sufficiently funds education
2 years, 4 months ago

Judge to decide if Pennsylvania sufficiently funds education

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A decision about whether Pennsylvania’s method of funding public education meets the state constitutional requirement that lawmakers provide “a thorough and efficient system” was left in the hands of a state judge Tuesday when argument wrapped up in the long-running case. Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer did not indicate when she will rule but said lawyers …

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 …

Arizona lawmakers begin hearings on state budget plan
2 years, 6 months ago

Arizona lawmakers begin hearings on state budget plan

Associated Press  

PHOENIX — The Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature began hearings Tuesday on a long-delayed state budget plan that was immediately panned by some Democrats and public school advocates for failing to use a huge surplus to significantly boost school funding. Critics call the plan’s new school funding miserly, especially when the state is sitting on a unprecedented $5.3 billion surplus even with …

Beshear: Budget fails to ‘meet the moment’ on school funding
2 years, 8 months ago

Beshear: Budget fails to ‘meet the moment’ on school funding

Associated Press  

FRANKFORT, Ky. — After scrutinizing the Republican legislature’s budget work, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s biggest complaints Monday were about K-12 education funding, saying lawmakers failed to “meet the moment” during a time of unprecedented revenue surpluses. “While we make some great investments in our future, the budget certainly doesn’t meet the moment when it comes to K-12 education.” Beshear said …

4-month trial in lawsuit over public school funding wraps
2 years, 9 months ago

4-month trial in lawsuit over public school funding wraps

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A marathon trial over how Pennsylvania funds public education reached an end Thursday but it will be months before a judge rules in the case brought by a group of poorer school districts against Republican state legislative leaders. The plaintiffs argue the current system denies students the “thorough and efficient system of public education” mandated by the …

Poorer cities, growing suburbs get most out of schools plan
2 years, 10 months ago

Poorer cities, growing suburbs get most out of schools plan

Associated Press  

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Meanwhile, 20 districts — primarily cities with among the state’s lowest average household incomes — would get $800 million of the $1.55 billion proposed by Wolf, or more than half. Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman, R-Centre, sought to tamp down expectations for the money, and said school districts should understand not to budget based on …

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 …

State budget to include Ohio K-12 school funding overhaul
3 years, 5 months ago

State budget to include Ohio K-12 school funding overhaul

Associated Press  

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A bipartisan school-funding plan in the works for years is back in Ohio’s upcoming state budget, under a compromise approved Monday by a joint legislative committee working out final details of the $75 billion spending plan. The Republican-controlled House had included the education proposal known as the Fair School Funding Plan in its version of the budget …

School funding at heart of Ohio legislative budget debate
3 years, 6 months ago

School funding at heart of Ohio legislative budget debate

Associated Press  

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The way Ohio pays for K-12 education now and in the future is at the heart of debate over the final version of the state’s $75 billion two-year budget. The budget approved by the GOP-controlled House in April included elements of the bipartisan Fair School Funding Plan developed over more than three years. The Senate plan builds …

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