Say it Isn’t So

On my desk is a spreadsheet of school districts in Pennsylvania that have either proposed cuts to their budgets for the 2010-11 school year starting in the fall or have approved cuts already in order to make ends meet in a dire fiscal environment.

Nearly 100 school districts in communities across the state have taken these drastic steps and the list is growing every week as the state's financial picture gets bleaker.

But we're not talking about eliminating fettuccine alfredo from the lunch menu or fancy field trips. We're talking about the most important resources our kids need to succeed, such as teachers and textbooks. The average state contribution to school districts' budgets is roughly 36 percent. The rest comes from local taxpayers.

Here are some proposed and approved cuts from various school districts across Pennsylvania: • Eliminate teaching positions; • Eliminate full-day kindergarten; • Cut support for special education; • Increase class size in elementary and high school classrooms; • Cut guidance counselor position; • Cut music and foreign language programs; • Cut bus service to some students; and • Cut textbook funding in half.

One school district in Allegheny Country already has an approved school budget that furloughs 49 teaching positions as a way to meet financial obligations.

As some legislators say nothing is immune to cuts in the governor's proposed budget, including basic education funding, this list of schools having to make tough financial decisions will grow by leaps and bounds.

But if the state honors its commitment to school finance reform and provides all school districts the funding they are counting on, then we won't see school district after school district being forced to let teachers go or eliminate foreign language programs or increase class size.

Join me in urging Gov. Rendell and the General Assembly to keep the six-year plan for school funding reform moving forward by adopting a state budget for 2010-11 that continues to distribute funds through the school funding formula adopted in 2008 and that provides $354 million more to fill the gaps in school districts across the Commonwealth.

Joan L. Benso is president and CEO, PA Partnerships for Children