School district funding 'on the positive'

Thursday, February 16, 2012

RIDGWAY - Ridgway Area School District Director of Finance Brent Rhoads said the proposed budget by Gov. Tom Corbett shows the district will "be on the positive" in terms of funding from the state.
The district would get a one-half percent increase from last year, Rhoads said at Tuesday's board meeting.
Corbett's proposal allocates $6.5 billion for public schools, including $5.4 billion for basic education, $542.3 million for pupil transportation, $77.7 million for nonpublic and charter school pupil transportation, $504.8 million for school district school employees Social Security and $36.8 million for intermediate unit employees Social Security.
The most significant change proposed is how the four basic subsidies involving basic education, transportation and Social Security will be calculated and distributed.
"It will be bad for a lot of school districts if their transportation costs go up or their wages go up and their Social Security goes up. That subsidy is no longer going to go up with that increase," Rhoads said. "It's going to be locked into this big number."
Superintendent Mike O'Brien said the transportation issue is a burden on rural schools, which have the potential to gain students on the farther reaches of the district - increasing costs that will not be subsidized.
Rhoads added that increases in those four areas of the district's operation not covered by the allocation would basically be pushed onto the local taxpayers.
"Some real concerns that I have with putting those four funds into one block grant is the ability for the government to hide any lack of increases," O'Brien said.
As an example, he told the board that in the proposed budget, special education receives no increase in funding for the fifth year.
"I signed two checks today in excess of $16,000 for (special education resources for) two students," O'Brien said. "That kind of price tag will continue to go up as we're mandated to provide those opportunities for special needs children. Yet, with the current zero increase, that money has to be made up somewhere, and unfortunately it is going to fall on our local folks."
Another cut at the state level is a $100 million decrease in the grant that is used to pay for full-day kindergarten and some pre-kindergarten programs.
Corbett sought to eliminate that funding last year, but the legislature restored some money.
Rhoads said another change in Corbett's proposal is that rather than the Department of Education paying the Intermediate Units for student transportation, that money will come directly from the school district.
O'Brien said the teacher and principal evaluation process is going to require added staff.
"They're decreasing funds that directly provide opportunities for children in the classroom and then go well over $4 million by intiating two things that they have not proven by research are even needed," O'Brien said. "I don't see soundness in decisionmaking based on that."
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Reported by Katie Weidenboerner, staff writer. Email: katiew@thecourierexpress.com.