Secretary Rivera Discusses Impact of Proposed Funding Increases with Lebanon School District Officials
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera continued his "Schools That Teach" tour today in Lebanon County, where he sat down for a discussion with administrators in the Lebanon School District to discuss the need for the increased school funding generated through Governor Tom Wolf's proposed severance tax on gas drilling.
"The Lebanon School District is facing similar challenges to what many districts around the commonwealth are confronted with as a result of funding cuts," Rivera said. "Governor Wolf's two-pronged proposal to assist schools, like Lebanon, includes an increase in Basic Education Funding through a commonsense severance tax on oil and natural gas extraction, as well as significant property tax reform."
In a roundtable discussion, Secretary Rivera heard from administrators about the district's plans to reduce class sizes in elementary grades and implement innovative learning options.
"What we have seen here in the Lebanon School District is an inability to bounce back from the recession and the loss of classroom funding we have experienced over the past several years," Lebanon School District Superintendent Dr. Marianne Bartley said. "Our limited tax base, coupled with an extremely high rate of poverty has placed a heavy burden on taxpayers and hindered our ability to generate the funds we need. Governor Wolf's budget will allow us to better serve the students of our district while also making our district a more desirable place to live and work through property tax relief."
Reducing class sizes in early elementary grades and implementing hybrid learning options were among the options provided in a letter Rivera sent to the superintendents of all 500 districts in March to ensure the education funding proposed in Wolf's 2015-2016 budget is spent directly on students in the classrooms, while providing administrators flexibility to invest in programs most needed in their schools.
In the letter, Rivera called on districts to submit plans to ensure this new investment reaches the classroom and to measure results for Pennsylvania's students. Ninety-six percent of Pennsylvania school districts across the commonwealth submitted funding impact plans to the state Department of Education, outlining how the governor's proposed $400 million basic education funding increase will be invested directly in classrooms.
MEDIA CONTACT: Nicole Reigelman, 717-783-9802.
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Education
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