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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. James Roebuck |
   
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Roebuck's education funding bill heads to full House
HARRISBURG, June 4 – The state House Education Committee today overwhelmingly approved a key piece of the 2008-09 education budget sponsored by committee Chairman James Roebuck, D-Phila.
"This bill entails the most significant portion of state education funding for the 2008-09 state budget and would help increase the state's share of education spending by more than $291 million," Roebuck said. "It also includes a new accountability proposal to make sure school districts that increase local spending are focusing those new dollars on helping students to achieve."
Roebuck's legislation (H.B. 2449) would provide $5.2 billion in state basic education funding for Pennsylvania's 501 school districts is 2008-09. The bill represents Gov. Ed Rendell's 2008-09 state education funding proposal, and would increase state funding for basic education by $291.3 million over 2007-08.
Roebuck said a "costing out" study completed in late 2007 identified two key shortcomings in the state's current approach to funding education -- adequacy in some school districts and equity across school districts. Accordingly, H.B. 2449 represents the beginning of a six-year, $2.6 billion plan to increase state funding for education in general and to begin providing more equitable state funding across school districts.
Roebuck's bill would also add new requirements to ensure that school districts that increase spending and taxes above a certain level use at least 80 percent of the new revenues directly for increased student achievement – for example, services or programs such as tutoring, additional classroom time, early childhood education, teacher and principal recruitment, and performance contracts for superintendents and principals.
House Bill 2449 now heads to the full House for consideration.
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