The governor's proposed spending plan for public education isn't of much help, two area school administrators said Tuesday, even with state money allocated for basic education subsidies at an all-time high.
"We certainly got bad news," said Steve Curran, business manager at Shamokin Area School District. "It could have been worse.
"Now we just have to move forward and hope our legislators will take care of us," Curran said of the General Assembly having to pass a final budget by June's end.
Gov. Tom Corbett's newly unveiled budget plan calls for $5.4 billion for instruction and operations costs for public schools, according to the Associated Press, including a 2 percent increase, about $240 million, in the basic education subsidy.
That basic education subsidy has never been higher, state Sen. John Gordner, R-27, said Tuesday.
But that subsidy remains 6.7 percent less than under Corbett's predecessor, Ed Rendell, who had used federal stimulus money that has since disappeared to bolster public education, according to the Scranton Times-Tribune.
"Unfortunately last year was a pretty severe cut, so it's not helpful at all," said Bernie Stellar, administrator-in-charge at Mount Carmel Area.
Stellar, who watched Corbett's budget address Tuesday morning and followed that up by printing out and examining a copy of the proposal, said he had expected the governor to either hold the line on education spending or institute moderate cuts.
Corbett's proposal actually added to Shamokin Area's estimated $4.6 million deficit for 2012-13 since its preliminary budget was passed last month. That spending plan included a modest 2 percent increase in state money - about $230,000 that the school district will now have to account for on its own.
"Our deficit just grew," Curran said. "For now, I'm going to have to revise our numbers to reflect this."
Shamokin Area is not alone in facing a substantial deficit entering next school year. Both Southern Columbia Area and Line Mountain each must account for shortfalls exceeding $1 million.
Mount Carmel Area has not yet adopted its preliminary budget.
Legislators react
Last year's cuts to education spending are often depicted as being done on the state level, Gordner said. However, the state senator said the drop-off was a direct result of Rendell allocating $1 billion in federal stimulus money toward education.
When that revenue stream dried up, the state couldn't fill the gap.
Corbett's proposal, however, exceeds any state money allocated to education under Rendell or any prior governor, Gordner said.
"This year's budget has more state funding for basic education than any previous budget ever had," he said.
State Rep. Kurt Masser, R-107, said the 2 percent increase in the basic education subsidy was a good move, but he had some concerns.
"I want to see what this means for our business managers and our superintendents and how this helps them," Masser said.
Gordner noted that pension costs are rising dramatically, and those costs are split between the state and its 500 public school districts.
Corbett called for $916 million in pension contributions, up 53 percent - a figure Curran dubbed "a lion's share" of the overall projection for state education funding, clouding any perceived increases.
Changes likely
The two biggest month's of Pennsylvania's budget year are March and April, Gordner said, which is when it collects the most revenue. The state is estimated at running $500 million below this year's projections and the governor said it could reach $720 million by year's end.
If that holds true, Gordner said additional funding could be allocated toward expenditures.
The state senator wouldn't say if he'd support Corbett's proposal as is. With any budget, he said, the state House and Senate would look to review and rearrange its contents.
Gordner noted that last year, Corbett proposed eliminating the state's Accountability Block Grant Program but that it was restored by the Legislature at $100 million in the final budget.
Once again, the governor proposed to cut the grant program.
"That's something I think the House and Senate will feel strongly about," he said.
'Sensible'
Overall, Masser described the governor's budget proposal as a "sensible one."
"I'm happy that we're living within our means, and we're not going back to the old ways of tax and spend, or borrow and spend," he said.
He expressed reservation about Corbett's decision to "lump together" a few line items that were separated in prior years, saying he hoped the moves would not harm correctional or agricultural programs.
Masser said he's dedicating himself as well to addressing a lack of salary increase for management level employees in the state prison system.
For his part, Gordner said that unlike the federal government, "we can't run a trillion dollar deficit. We have to have balanced revenue and expenditures."
"It's very clear taxpayers are hurting. They're not looking for government to raise taxes," he said.