Even less for schools from Harrisburg

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Posted: Monday, February 6, 2012 6:00 am | Updated: 6:46 pm, Fri Feb 3, 2012.

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Word is out. Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration is preparing a budget that could turn the screws even tighter on the state’s beleaguered school districts.

Pennsylvania is facing yet another projected budget deficit, and funding for public education could be targeted again, just a year after Corbett and the Republican-controlled Legislature enacted the biggest cut in school aid in recent memory in an effort to close a multibillion-dollar budget gap.

We understand the need to put the state’s finances on solid footing, and spending reductions are necessary.

But if Corbett and his party continue their attack on school funding, public education as we know it in this state may cease to exist.

Local school districts are slowly being strangled; every district is feeling the pinch. Last year’s cuts in aid drew the most money away from the poorer districts, which tend to rely heavily on help from Harrisburg.

But the factors driving up the cost of education are universal: Administrator and teacher salaries, pension obligations, employee health care. Many districts have delayed capital improvements, scaled back computer and textbook purchases and cut corners on maintenance.

One nearby district, Chester Upland, was ready to shut down for lack of funds until a federal judge ordered Corbett to send the district a cash advance. Teachers in the district pledged to continue working without pay. A noble gesture, but no way to run the schools.

If some other districts are not facing the same dire situation as Chester Upland, they’re close.

With Act 1 limiting the amount local districts can raise taxes and further cutting into school revenue, prudent financial planning is a must.

And we may have to lower our expectations for our schools.

Already, classes are getting larger. Extracurriculars are no longer “free.” Good teachers remain the key to good schools, but their salaries and benefits, which typically amount to 75 percent or more of a school district’s budget, must be adjusted.

A fundamental shift away from school districts’ heavy reliance on real estate taxes would benefit home and property owners. But that money would have to be made up somewhere else. As much as Republican lawmakers hate the idea, state taxes — income and/or sales — will likely have to be increased.

The governor can’t just keep cutting and holding the line on taxes AND expect the schools to be able to do their job. It’s simple arithmetic. And what’s happening just doesn’t add up.