The legislature should approve Gov. Rendell's plan to change how state aid is allocated and boost education funding by $291 million.

It's not the complete funding overhaul that many education advocates want, but it puts the state on the right course.

The six-year plan would increase the state's share of education costs from the current 37 percent - among the lowest in the country - to about 44 percent.

Taxpayers should be relieved to know that the proposal calls for no broad-based tax increases.

The plan would increase state funding by 6 percent above the nearly $5 billion currently allocated to public schools. Similar annual increases would occur until Rendell leaves office in 2011.

In the biggest change, Rendell wants to distribute the new aid based on a formula that gives more money to the neediest districts - those with the largest numbers of students living in poverty and students learning English as a second language.

New Jersey began using a similar approach this year. It makes sense, given that it does cost more to educate students with special needs.

Last year's "costing out" study commissioned by the legislature recommended the new formula. The study also concluded that Pennsylvania public schools are underfunded by $4.38 billion.

Some districts may remain underfunded under Rendell's plan, but his proposed increases will be an improvement, and they will help bridge the spending disparities between the state's poor and wealthy districts.

For example, Lower Merion spends more than $21,000 per student, while Upper Darby spends $9,889. Getting a high-quality public education shouldn't depend on where you live.

Under the governor's formula, Upper Darby would get an increase of $4.9 million, or 22.4 percent, the largest percentage jump in the state.

Philadelphia, the state's largest district and one of the poorest, would get an additional $86 million, a 9.6 percent increase. That money is sorely needed; district officials are projecting at least a $39 million deficit.

Even the most affluent districts in the state would receive at least a 1.5 percent increase in aid. Rendell's plan also increases spending for special education, pre-kindergarten and charter school tuition reimbursements.

House Republicans argue that money alone won't fix public education. They're right, but it is absolutely essential for the many Pennsylvania districts with needs that truly require more spending.

Greater accountability is essential, too. One need only look at the Chester Upland district, taken over by the state years ago, to see an example of a lack of adequate oversight in the past.

But neither does accountability alone complete the equation that produces good schools.

Too many school districts have been underfunded by the state for too long, placing an unfair burden on local property taxpayers who must make up the difference. The governor's new funding formula should be approved.