The Mayor of Pittsburgh appeared at an event calling for “…a fair, sustainable and predictable method for funding public schools that recognizes the shared responsibility we all have — and the shared benefits we all receive — when every Pennsylvania child gets that opportunity.”
Now the Mayor of Pittsburgh does not have any formal control over Pittsburgh’s schools, but he has convened a commission and asked for participation in a Federal program thus far prior to the event.
So what is fair? In 2012-13’s fiscal year, the combined revenues from local, state and Federal sources for Pittsburgh Public Schools was $595.5 million, with 48% coming from local revenue, 41% coming from state revenue, and 11% from Federal revenue. Does the Mayor think City schools aren’t getting enough from the state? Ten years ago (2003-04) the state’s share in Pittsburgh was 35%, so as a percentage of the total Pittsburgh is getting more state money now.
Does the Mayor want the state to fund 50% of public school education? Doing so in Pittsburgh, based on 2012-13 totals, would require $53 million more from the state to bring the total to $297 million. To arrive at the same funding per-pupil in order to keep the 50% level would require cuts of $53 million from Federal and local sources.
Doing so in a district that generates much more from local sources like North Allegheny (2012-13 total revenue of $128 million was split $102 million local (80%), $24 million state (19%), and $1.8 million Federal (1%)) might be welcomed, but to get that district to 50% from the state would mean sending $10 million more ($64 million) than would come from the state to that district than Pittsburgh. Would that be seen as fair?
Or how about if a district had to cap expenditures in relation to its state designed market value/personal income ratio? At 0.4134 Pittsburgh’s spending of $20,594 stands higher than districts with ratios nearby to Pittsburgh’s. Statewide only two districts in other counties are at the same aid ratio yet spending more than $20,000 per-pupil.