Pennsylvania Governor Wolf's Budget Makes Historic Investment in Education

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 3, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Tom Wolf today announced that his 2015-16 Executive Budget will put Pennsylvania back on the path to success and help rebuild the middle class with a historic investment in education. The governor's plan provides more than $1 billion in new funding and reforms for early childhood, K-12 schools and colleges and universities.

"With a historic investment in education, Governor Wolf's inaugural budget proposal answers the call of school leaders and educators who have struggled over the past four years to provide their students with a world-class education in the face of deep budget cuts," said Acting Secretary Rivera. "The education of Pennsylvania's children is paramount to our future success and to strengthen the middle class.

"Governor Wolf's 2015-16 Budget solidifies his commitment to ensure that schools receive the resources they need to help students succeed. We must provide a rigorous curriculum, support career, technical and special education programs, and offset the costs associated with charter school tuition."

Investing in Our Public Schools

The 2015-16 Executive Budget represents the first phase in Governor Wolf's goal of investing $2 billion in K-12 and early childhood education over the next four years. Funding to support this goal will be generated through the Education Reinvestment Act, which would impose a fair and reasonable severance tax on natural gas extraction.

 The governor's proposal for K-12 education includes:

• $6.13 billion in Basic Education Funding ($400 million increase, the largest in Pennsylvania history), along with strong and fair accountability for schools, educators and students so that Pennsylvanians can be confident in their public education investment;
• $1.15 billion in Special Education Funding ($100 million increase);
• $20 million for Career and Technical Education and Equipment Grants as the first step in realigning Career and Technical Education to prepare students for good-paying, high-demand, high-skill careers;
• $8 million for career counselors in middle and high schools;
• $9 million for Dual Enrollment requested from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA); and
• An estimated $160 million in savings to school districts from Cyber Charter Reform.

Governor Wolf's budget also calls for the enactment of a new school funding formula by June 30, 2015, to take effect in the 2016-17 school year. The governor has committed to working with the bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission to achieve this goal, and described four pillars that the new funding formula should achieve: adequacy, equity, predictability, and accountability.

The Governor's budget also includes $3.8 billion in historic property tax relief, providing more than a 50 percent reduction in homeowner property taxes. Combined with the increased funding for public education in the Executive Budget, these reforms will bring the state's share of school funding above 50 percent for the first time since at least the early 1970's.

To reform cyber charter school funding, the 2015-16 Budget bases cyber charter regular tuition rates on the highest-spending of comparable high-performing online education programs offered by Intermediate Units. For special education, cyber charter tuition rates would be based on the recommendations of the bipartisan Special Education Funding Commission. Based on 2013-14 expenditure data, the plan would generate $160 million in savings for school districts.

The 2015-16 Budget plan also implements important pension reforms and provides the state and local school districts with a manageable plan to fully fund their employer contributions while maintaining the ability to meet all other obligations. The three part strategy would institute investment reforms to significantly reduce excessive management fees and overreliance on high risk investment strategies. The plan eliminates "double dip" payments to charter schools permanently, and guarantees all actuarially required employer obligations are paid in full. The initiatives will produce savings to reduce our total long term liability by more than $10 billion. More immediate savings will reduce employer obligations by nearly $1.3 billion during the next five years, including nearly $370 million in savings for school districts. Most importantly, beginning in the 2016-17 fiscal year, future employer payments to SERS and PSERS will fully fund employer obligations and will begin to reduce the outstanding unfunded liability.

High-Quality Early Childhood Education

Governor Wolf's budget plan increases the number of children in Pre-K Counts and state-funded Head Start Supplemental Assistance by 75 percent, making high-quality pre-kindergarten available to at least an additional 14,000 children.

Pennsylvania's early learning programs have a proven record of success. In 2013-14, when children who were enrolled in Pre-K Counts in 2009-10 reached third grade, they outperformed their economically disadvantaged peers in both math and reading.

"The evidence shows that the Commonwealth's Pre-K Counts program is working to help prepare children, from economically disadvantaged families, for success as they enter elementary school where the foundation for success is built," said Acting Secretary Rivera. "The Governor's 2015-16 budget proposal represents a down payment on the goal of universal high-quality pre-kindergarten for Pennsylvania's 3- and 4-year-olds."

The governor's proposal for early education funding includes a total investment of $494 million in Early Childhood Education:

• $197 million Pre-K Counts ($100 million increase);
• $59 million Head Start Supplemental Assistance Fund ($20 million increase); and
• $238 million Early Intervention.

In addition to increasing funding to expand high-quality early education programs, Governor Wolf's budget proposal includes: ensuring that allowable Head Start funds are used for home-based pre-school so rural families have access to high-quality pre-k; creating a process where priority is given to special at-risk populations in the enrollment process at state-supported early learning programs; and bringing together experts and stakeholders to examine and help strengthen the commonwealth's child development and early learning system to further enhance quality and improve services to families.

PA Rising: Higher Education and Workforce Development for Pennsylvania's Future

Rebuilding the middle class and creating a better future for Pennsylvania's residents depends on developing a skilled workforce and a business-driven education and training strategy. To ensure that the Commonwealth meets the needs of its businesses and employers in the coming years, we need to provide today's students with the skills to meet this rising demand.

Just 48 percent of Pennsylvanians currently have a college degree or industry-recognized certification. By 2025, fully 60 percent of good-paying, reliable Pennsylvania jobs will require these credentials. Pennsylvania will close that education gap—making a college degree or high-value industry-recognized certification available to at least 650,000 additional Commonwealth residents over the next decade.

In addition to increased funding for high school career and technical education programs and the reinstatement of the dual enrollment program, the Governor's budget proposal encourages school districts, employers and postsecondary institutions to work together to create a seamless bridge for students transitioning from high school to college or a career.

The 2015-16 Budget reinvests in higher education and commits to fully restore the cuts to colleges and universities over the next two years. The budget includes:

• Community Colleges. The 2015-16 Budget provides a $15.056 million (7.0 percent) increase to community colleges—restoring 75 percent of the community colleges' cuts since 2011.
• Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE). The 2015-16 Budget provides a $45.302 million (11.0 percent) increase to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education to achieve these policy goals.
• State-Related Universities. The 2015-16 Budget provides a $80.907 million increase to Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh, Temple University and Lincoln University.

The massive state cuts to colleges and universities over the last four years have led to tuition hikes that imperil the promise of higher education for working families. At PASSHE alone, state budget cuts resulted in tuition increasing by nearly 18 percent since 2010-11. The 2015-16 Budget makes higher education more affordable for Pennsylvanians, and calls on the community colleges and State System universities to freeze tuition for the next academic year.

In addition, the state will work with community colleges and the PASSHE to develop individual college plans that address performance, affordability, student completion and transformation through structured career pathways and partnerships with employers.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jessica Hickernell – 717-783-9802

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Education

Related Links

http://www.state.pa.us