Allocate money to Basic Education Funding instead of the Ready to Learn Block Grant program. Education Voters supports putting the increases from Governor Corbett’s proposed block grant funding into the Basic Education Funding line.  Doing this provides districts the appropriate level of flexibility to support core programs and obligations.  Requiring these funds be used for new programs with only one year of proposed funding puts communities in a difficult position –  they are struggling to maintain current programs and reasonable class sizes now; making investments in new programs often requires planning time, start-up costs etc.  While it is true that our basic education funding system needs to be overhauled, unless new funding is paired with a structural fix, we must provide districts with the funding and flexibility necessary to support core services and prevent further program cuts.

The General Assembly should pass SB 1316/HB2138, the special education funding and accountability reform bill. 

• State special education funding should be distributed to both community school systems and charter schools based on the level of services that students need.
• All of our public schools should receive special education funding distributed by the same new allocation formula.
• Special education funding should be spent ONLY on providing special education services, not general funding.
• If the legislature chooses to freeze special education funding at current levels for charter schools (hold harmless and allow them to continue getting money they are currently getting) no additional money should accrue to charter schools based on the old, flawed system for funding special education.

These bills start the process of fixing a part of what is broken in school funding – outdated methodologies and data, ignoring the impact of changes in the system such as population changes, the addition of charter schools, and advances in both identification and delivery of services.  The fact that charter schools have been using and depending on special education funding to pay for general operating expenses is evidence of how flawed the state education funding system really is. The current flaws in the system, combined with inadequate special education funding that has not increased at all in over 6 years, further pressure the entire system.  Since special education services are mandated but funding is too low, districts struggle to meet their obligations, and must carve out resources from other parts of their budget, having a domino effect on all students.  All dollars for special education should go to special education services.

The charter reimbursement line should be restored.  This state funding was eliminated in the FY11-12 budget and it has had an extremely negative impact on many school districts.  The reimbursement was put in place because when the General Assembly created charter schools, it did not concurrently put in place a funding system that matched the system of delivery, which created a financial hardship for many school districts. The elimination of the charter school reimbursement line item has negatively impacted districts across the state, not just large urban areas.  Restoring it is a simple, fair and structural way to support districts.

Find the revenue.The legislature must identify adequate revenue to meet the Constitutional requirement to “provide a thorough and efficient education” to meet the needs of the Commonwealth.  There are options to increase the amount of money available.  Our quality of life and the future of our children are dependent on the legislature’s ability to do the difficult work of governing and adopting a responsible budget that meets the needs of our communities.

• Education Voters of Pennsylvania is a non-partisan public interest advocacy organization working to promote an opportunity to learn for all children and a strong public education system for all communities in Pennsylvania.