Word is that there is an agreement between the Governor and the General Assembly to boost basic education funding (BEF) by $350 million above the $5.5 billion spent in 2014-15. Our Brief earlier last week showed how the state’s Basic Education funding Commission recommendations from June would affect a few districts in Allegheny County. The Commission recommended, and the Legislature passed, a bill that would have given districts what they received in 2014-15 and $100 million in new money would have been driven out through the new formula.
It is possible that the $350 million, if a deal is approved, would also be awarded through the formula, but there is some question on that as well based on this article.
Based on the data of the House Appropriations Committee on the formula utilized for the $100 million originally proposed and raising that amount by a factor of 3.5 (again, this assumes that all new money goes through the formula) the districts in Allegheny County would share $26 million (7.4%) of the $350 million statewide, or about $173 new per-pupil (based on 150k students in Allegheny County).
The dollar amounts would range from $6.1 million in Pittsburgh to $114,000 in Avonworth. In terms of the percentage boost from the new money (over and above what each district received in 2014-15 in BEF) Cornell would get a 22% increase ($359k). Five other districts would get 10% or more in new money via the formula as a percentage of 2014-15 BEF. Five districts would get 4% or less in new money above their 2014-15 BEF amount.
