House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

In Pennsylvania, the fiscal year for school districts runs from July 1 to June 30, which coincides with the state’s fiscal year. Currently, school districts are required to pass an annual budget by June 30, which is also the deadline for the state budget that allocates education funding for schools. This requires a lot of guessing on the part of each school district to prepare and pass a budget by the mandated deadline when they do not know exactly how much education funding they will receive by the state until the state budget is finalized. Although Pennsylvania law does provide some flexibility for school districts to delay the adoption of their annual budget if the state budget is late, the current deadline of June 30 is just simply not enough time for a school district to properly plan for the fiscal year.  

 

We must provide school districts with more time to prepare their annual budget. To that end, I am introducing legislation that would move the deadline for districts to pass their budgets from June 30 to July 31. The legislation would also provide districts with similar flexibility that they have now to delay the adoption of their annual budget if the state budget is late by giving them an extra 30 days after the enactment of the state budget if it is not passed by July 1. This legislation will ensure that school districts across Pennsylvania can properly prepare for the academic year by passing a budget that more accurately reflects the education funding they will receive from the state.  

 

We must do everything we can to set school districts up for financial success so they can provide students with a quality education that they deserve. I hope you will join me in supporting this important legislation to help schools and students in Pennsylvania.