The ABC’s of Education Funding, Part 2 Key Details of the State’s Education Proposal
Dwight Evans is Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. The following is a brief outline of key details in the state’s education proposal, and is the follow up to The ABC’s of Education Funding written by the Chairman.
Basic Education
House Bill 2279 funds the basic education subsidy at more than $5.88 billion, an increase of $354 million or 6.4% more than in 2009/10. The total subsidy payment consists of $5.226 billion in state funds and $654.7 million in federal stimulus funds.
The estimated basic education subsidy funding for the Philadelphia School district is $1.1 billion, up from $1.01 billion in the current year. This represents an 8.86% increase of nearly $89.6 million.
As with 2009/10, the 2010/11 proposal falls short of the original target for state share funding in year three. Therefore, increasing the state share to the fully recommended level will most likely take longer than six years.
Other than the basic education subsidy and a new $2.4 million line item for Teacher Certification, House Bill 2279 increases fewer than 20 percent of the education budget line items. Other appropriations were either flat-funded at 2009/10 levels or reduced. A majority of the increased appropriations represent funding for mandated payments/reimbursements, including:
- Pupil Transportation
- Tuition for Orphans and Children Placed in Private Homes
- Payments in Lieu of Taxes
- School Food Services
- Rx for PA – School Food Services
- School Employees’ Social Security
- School Employees’ Retirement
House Bill 2279 funds the Accountability Block Grant, introduced in the 2004/05 budget to provide funding for programs such as pre-kindergarten, at $271.4 million. This represents flat-funding at the 2009/10 level.
House Bill 2279 funds the Education Assistance Program at $55.3 million. This program provides extra tutoring services to 172,000 students in 175 school districts and Career and Technical Centers. The 2009/10 enacted budget included $59.1 million for this; however, as part of the additional reductions announced in January 2010, the appropriation was reduced by $3.8 million. House Bill 2279’s funding is equal to the January 2010 revised amount.
Early Learning
House Bill 2279 funds Pre-K Counts at $85.9 million to provide early learning opportunities to 11,800 children across Pennsylvania. The 2009/10 enacted budget provided $86.4 million for this program; however, as part of the additional reductions announced in January 2010, the appropriation was reduced by $475,000. House Bill 2279’s funding for 2010/11 is equal to the January 2010 revised amount.
House Bill 2279 provides $38.7 million for Head Start Supplemental Assistance which adds state funds to the federal Head Start program to provide early learning opportunities to more than 5,700 eligible children. The 2009/10 enacted budget provided $39.5 million for this program; however, as part of the additional reductions announced in January 2010, the appropriation was reduced by $784,000. House Bill 2279’s funding for 2010/11 is equal to the January 2010 revised amount.
House Bill 2279 funds Early Intervention at $186.1 million, an increase of $12.6 million or nearly 7.2%. This program provides early learning opportunities for developmentally delayed school age children.
Special Education
House Bill 2279 provides $1.02 billion for the special education subsidy. State funding for this appropriation has remained at the same level since 2008/09. Also note that federal stimulus funds provide Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) additional funding totaling more than $376 million in 2009/10. The additional funds were paid to both school districts and charter schools.
Public Library Subsidy
House Bill 2279 funds the Public Library Subsidy at $58.8 million. This represents a decrease of $1.2 million or two percent compared to 2009/10.
Higher Education
As was the case in 2009/10, House Bill 2279 proposes to use a combination of state and federal ARRA funds for higher education. Community colleges, the State System of Higher Education, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology and the state-related universities all receive the same allocation they did in 2009/10.
| Higher Education: State and ARRA Funds | |||
| 2008/09 | 2009/10 | 2010/11 | |
| Community Colleges | $236,240 | $235,741 | $235,741 |
| State | $236,240 | $214,217 | $214,217 |
| ARRA | $0 | $21,524 | $21,524 |
| State System of Higher Education | $524,236 | $503,355 | $503,355 |
| State | $497,168 | $465,197 | $465,197 |
| ARRA | $27,068 | $38,158 | $38,158 |
| Pennsylvania State University | $335,046 | $333,863 | $333,863 |
| State | $318,073 | $318,072 | $318,072 |
| ARRA | $16,973 | $15,791 | $15,791 |
| University of Pittsburgh | $169,134 | $167,995 | $167,995 |
| State | $160,490 | $160,490 | $160,490 |
| ARRA | $8,644 | $7,505 | $7,505 |
| Temple University | $173,904 | $172,737 | $172,737 |
| State | $164,974 | $164,974 | $164,974 |
| ARRA | $8,930 | $7,763 | $7,763 |
| Lincoln University | $14,453 | $13,782 | $13,782 |
| State | $13,623 | $13,623 | $13,623 |
| ARRA | $830 | $159 | $159 |
| Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology | $10,700 | $10,876 | $10,876 |
| State | $10,293 | $8,550 | $8,550 |
| ARRA | $407 | $2,326 | $2,326 |
House Bill 2279 also funds the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school at $30 million, the same amount as in 2009/10. Additionally the Center for Infectious Disease would receive $500,000. The Center received no funding in 2009/10.
Drexel University, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Salus University, the Philadelphia University of the Arts, the Johnson Technical Institute, and the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades are not funded in House Bill 2279.
House Bill 2279 funds programs administered by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) at $455 million, the same level as 2009/10. This includes the Grants to Students appropriation at $403.6 million.
