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The Education Policy and Leadership Center
800 North Third Street, Suite 408, Harrisburg, PA 17102
717-260-9900 - www.eplc.org
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EPLC EDUCATION NOTEBOOK
Friday, July 2, 2010
SPECIAL 2010-2011 BUDGET UPDATE
The EPLC Education Notebook (current and past editions) also is available by visiting the EPLC website at www.eplc.org/ednotebook.html.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Senate approved a budget for 2010-2011 on Wednesday, June 30, after reaching an agreement with Governor Rendell. However, the Governor said he would not sign the budget bill until a package of legislation related to budget issues also was approved.
It is being reported this Friday afternoon that the Governor and legislative leaders have now agreed to the particulars of that package of related legislation. The Governor’s Office has announce a tentative budget signing ceremony planned for Tuesday, July 6.
With the budget sent to the Governor on Wednesday, school districts would receive a basic education subsidy increase of $250 million, down from the $354.8 million increase that Gov. Rendell originally proposed. While basic education funding is not at the level proposed by the Governor, Rendell called the increase significant. He also noted that while support for the basic subsidy is increasing, the overall education budget was not held harmless and experienced significant cuts.
The new budget includes a total General Fund spending level of $28.05 billion. It also includes an agreement to enact a gas extraction tax by October 1, and is predicated on receiving $850 million in yet-to-be approved federal FMAP funds (Medicaid reimbursement to states). If FMAP is not extended at the federal level, additional line items in the state budget would have to be placed in reserve. This almost undoubtedly would mean a reduction in funds for basic education.
The budget agreement does not include revenue from four additional sources that were part of this year’s budget debate – a tax on cigars, a tax on smokeless tobacco, ending the discount for businesses that remit sales tax receipts on time, and revenue from closing the Delaware loophole for corporations.
For details on the education budget, please go to the House Appropriations Committee budget link below:
http://www.hacd.net/budget/201011/documents/Updated_HB2279PN3277_063010_9am.pdf
We’ll be sending more detailed analysis next week.
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EPLC Education Notebook is published by The Education Policy and Leadership Center (EPLC). Permission to reprint or electronically redistribute the Notebook in whole or in part is granted provided attribution to EPLC is provided.
The Education Policy and Leadership Center is an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit organization. The Mission of EPLC is to encourage and support the enactment and implementation of effective state-level education policies in order to improve student learning in grades P-12, increase the effective operation of schools, and enhance educational opportunities for citizens of all ages.
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