Inquirer Editorial: Halfhearted help for schools

Gov. Corbett and lawmakers were right to include help for Philadelphia's faltering schools in the state budget. Unfortunately, some of the proposed funding is uncertain, some relies on questionable fiscal tactics, and some won't recur, which means the city will have to ask for more next year.

In the hours before the June 30 budget deadline, Gov. Corbett announced his plan to meet schools Superintendent William R. Hite Jr.'s goal of closing a $304 million budget gap. Hite had asked for $120 million in additional state aid, but the state provided only $15.7 million in increased basic education funding for the city.

The rest of the money in Corbett's proposal would come from other sources. About $45 million could come from settling a federal debt, thanks to a few Philadelphians' skilled efforts to untangle an intergovernmental dispute. That will help for a year, but it is not a steady stream of money.

Corbett also proposes borrowing $50 million against the extension of a 1-percentage-point city sales-tax hike that was set to expire in a year. That is problematic for a system that has been trying to reduce its debt load. Moreover, that sales-tax revenue was being used to help the city meet its underfunded pension obligation. If the tax increase is extended, at least some of it should continue to go to pensions.

Corbett's plan also counts on the district's unions to make concessions worth $133 million, and there is no sign that they will. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has said its members will not accept a pay cut.

The governor could not get legislative support for a $2-a-pack city cigarette tax, which would have yielded about $46 million this fiscal year while discouraging smoking. City Council didn't help by recessing without even voting on an increase in the by-the-drink tax on alcoholic beverages, which could have raised $22 million. Mayor Nutter should continue to promote these sin taxes as a source of stable school funding.

It's a shame that Corbett and Republican lawmakers would not forgo further cuts to business taxes, which could have supplied about $300 million statewide. While the Philadelphia School District, the state's largest, is in the most desperate condition, schools around the state are struggling with layoffs, larger class sizes, and program cuts.

The annual back-and-forth over funding Philadelphia's schools underscores Harrisburg's failure to take responsibility for a district it is running through the School Reform Commission. The new budget gives the city a better chance of avoiding doomsday layoffs of 3,800 employees. But the rescue plan is by no means certain.

Under Hite, the district seems poised to improve its fiscal and academic management. But that won't happen without a level of reliable financial support that simply can't be found in this budget.