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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT: Bill
Thomas |
State Rep. Mark
Longietti |
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Longietti: Common Cents proposal receives committee support
Pa. lawmaker says bill would encourage more efficient delivery of school services
HARRISBURG, June 20 – Pennsylvania state Rep. Mark Longietti, D-Mercer, announced the House Education Committee endorsed a measure today that would establish a Common Cents program to encourage school districts to explore more efficient delivery of school services.
The measure (H.B. 1021) would provide funding for school districts to explore and implement the possibility of sharing certain services to reduce costs and improve quality. Longietti said the program would be completely voluntary and the funding would be used to study shared services in 11 different areas, including transportation, administration, purchasing, technology, and safety and security.
“This program could be a significant tool for many school districts across the Commonwealth so they could study what the most efficient use of tax dollars could be and provide more efficient services to their students and communities,” Longietti said. “It would not be a mandated program – simply a resource for schools to utilize.”
Longietti said that recently, the Sharon City School District reached out to other local school districts to discuss shared services as it attempted to whittle down a $1.4 million funding gap in its preliminary budget. Sharpsville Area School District responded that it would be interested in exploring shared services. In May, Longietti and members of the House Education Committee held a public hearing in Sharon regarding the issue in which both the Sharon and Sharpsville school districts participated.
“This bill would allow schools throughout Pennsylvania to follow the lead of Sharon City and Sharpsville school districts and explore sharing services to reduce costs,” he said. “I am pleased my colleagues in the House Education Committee agreed with my proposal and I will continue to fight for this legislation as it makes its way to the House floor.”
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