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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 7, 2021 02:47 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Bob Mensch |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Basic Education Funding Formula Enhancement |
| In the near future, I will be introducing legislation to ensure more State funding is run through the Basic Education Funding Formula. While many legislators, myself included, patted ourselves on the back for the passage of the new basic education funding formula a few years back, it didn’t take long to realize that a portion of the law to distribute the funding was having some undesired effects when it comes to appropriating our Education dollars. Known as the “hold harmless” provision, the law starts the allocation with the amount received by the school district for the 2013-14 school year before remaining funds being distributed through the formula which was adopted in a bipartisan manner. While the formula takes so much necessary demographic information into account, the “hold harmless” provision prevents so much of it from going where the formula says it should be distributed. My legislation does not repeal “hold harmless”. My legislation will state that any amount which a school district has in reserves which is in excess of 10% of budgeted expenditures will be subtracted from the “hold harmless” amount. Therefore, the allocation will begin to funnel money more accurately through the basic education funding formula. This will allow school districts to still have adequate reserves while simultaneously boosting the effects of the basic education funding formula. I hope that you will join me as a co-sponsor for this important legislation. If you have any questions, please call David Kozak from my office at 717-787-3110. |