School districts brace for big cuts in Corbett budget

Since Gov. Corbett was elected in November, school districts have seen it coming straight at them: cuts in the funding they get from Harrisburg.

Many say, however, that the proposed reductions that the governor presented in March were far broader than expected.

The biggest cuts, on a per-student basis, hit the poorest and lowest-performing districts hardest. Chester Upland in Delaware County would have the largest reduction in the state, about 17 percent of its budget.

Philadelphia is next on the list for the region.

Other spending cuts are aimed specifically at affluent districts.

In all, the governor's proposed budget would give districts in this region about $438 million less than they got this year.

In response, many school officials face tough budget choices that could include tax increases, layoffs, and program cuts - though for most, it is too soon to say what that mix would be.

None of those paths is very palatable, said Jay Himes, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials. Though many saw tough times coming, he said, "knowing in advance that you're going to get hit with a baseball bat doesn't make it feel any better."

Corbett's proposed budget would reduce overall public-school aid by $1.1 billion, saying recent funding levels are "unsustainable" and have created a "culture of . . . often unquestioned spending."

Districts had anticipated a big reduction to the Basic Education Fund. It is their largest state subsidy, and it had risen steadily under Gov. Ed Rendell. Corbett wants to slice it 10.5 percent.

But Basic Education turned out to account for only 35 percent of the total funding loss that schools in the region face. Other categories make up the rest of the cuts, with three providing a significant wallop.

Because the administration did not share details about the budget until it was released March 8, school officials were left in the dark as they began to craft their spending plans.

Many boards that passed preliminary budgets in January and February are now scrambling to fill holes Corbett poked in their plans. Final budgets must be adopted by June 30.

"This is no way to do a budget," West Chester Area School District Superintendent James Scanlon said. He said 35 positions could be lost through attrition because the Corbett proposal left the district $2.3 million deeper in the hole than expected.

West Chester is one of 11 area districts that has voted to raise taxes no higher than the state inflation rate - 1.4 percent for most. So it cannot raise taxes much. "To try to find new reductions in a few weeks causes chaos, and mistakes will be made," Scanlon said.

Adding to such uncertainty is opposition to parts of the plan being voiced by state legislators, including those in the Republican majority. Last week, House Speaker Sam Smith (R., Jefferson) said "it would be difficult to get the votes in the House and Senate" for the overall budget because of the education cuts.

Besides the cuts to Basic Education, Corbett wants to ax the Accountability Block Grant program. Most of that money has been used to expand or maintain full-day kindergarten and other early-childhood programs.

Another targeted category is reimbursement to districts for the payments they make to charter schools to send pupils there. Until now, the state has offset some of that cost; that would end under Corbett's proposal.

Wealthier districts would have a substantial cut in a little-known practice in which the state helps pay some of the employer share of Social Security taxes.

Several smaller programs - tutoring and money for students to take college courses while in high school among them - are also dropped from Corbett's spending plan. Only school employee state pension payments, transportation, and an early-intervention program would get sizable increases.

Corbett's proposed cuts would be most deeply felt in the poorest districts, because they get a larger percentage of their budgets from the state and because funding formulas for Basic Education tilted heavily under Rendell toward districts with high poverty and high taxes.

Philadelphia, for example, gets more than half of its funding from the state. The proposed cuts in Corbett's budget were a big factor in the district's announcement last week that it faces a $629 million deficit for next year.

It might have to reduce central office staff by half, reduce transportation and full-service meals, slash spending for art, music, and gifted education, and increase class sizes and the number of students assigned to school counselors.

Michael Masch, the district's chief finance officer, said: "Every major urban school district in the United States and many other school districts, including small-town and rural school districts . . . is facing unprecedented budget challenges."

Chester Upland would get $19 million less. Because about 40 percent of its students attend charter schools, it would lose close to $11 million of those reimbursements.

Charles Warren, a school activist and Democratic candidate for school board in the primary, said: "We can't stand a tidal wave like this. . . . Chester Upland could become nonexistent."

The Council Rock School District in Bucks County could lose $3.7 million, including $1.5 million in Social Security aid. The state share of the district's Social Security contributions would drop from 50 percent to 15 percent, Superintendent Mark Klein said.

Council Rock also has voted to stay within the inflation rate with its tax increase, so it has to look elsewhere to close an estimated $14.2 million budget gap. It is considering eliminating more than 60 positions - teachers and aides - through layoffs and attrition.

"Obviously, the most important thing we want to do is try not to impact the core part of our program," Klein said. "It's hard to do that and at the same time cut 40 teachers."

Chester County's Coatesville Area School District stands to lose about $5.5 million in charter school aid.

Proposed state cuts total about $8.6 million, close to 6 percent of this year's budget, business manager Kenneth Lupold said. The district now has a budget gap of at least $11 million.

The Corbett administration is unapologetic about the proposed budget, saying that many districts are bloated and wasteful, and must learn how to deliver high-quality education for less.

"I have never believed that the amount of money going into the system was the determinant of the quality of the system," said Ronald J. Tomalis, Corbett's nominee for education secretary. "That's where I think we've gotten lost in the recent years."

Louis DeVlieger, superintendent in Delaware County's Upper Darby district, which is looking at a big hit in state funding, disagrees.

"As we got the money [from increased state funding] we created interventions and support systems, all data-driven, research-driven, and integrated them with a solid core curriculum," he said.

"We were able to have tremendous staff development so our staff was on the cutting edge . . . so that at-risk children could be served throughout the summer, so there wasn't regression throughout the summer. The test scores show it. The leaps are just incredible."

As things stand now, he said, "we can't afford to do summer programming for our kids this summer. You don't think that's going to have an impact? It's unconscionable."