IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Spring 2019 | Page 66

Brentwood
Borough
School
District
SUPERINTENDENT’S
M E S S A G E
BY DR . AMY M. BURCH
Governor Wolf presented his 2019-2020 Budget Proposal which highlighted his priorities for education. At first glance it
appears that $441 million was added to the Basic Education Funding (BEF), but upon closer examination $260 million was
transferred from the Ready To Learn Block Grant. This level funded grant money will be distributed to the schools as in the
past and NOT through the funding formula. Of the $162 million remaining, $20 million has been committed to five districts.
Calculating the various other deductions approximately $142 remains to be run through the funding formula for distribution
to the remaining 495 school districts. Educators welcome the additional funding, but the increase in funding is already
committed to mandated increases in special education costs, PSERS, health insurance, and rising costs of charter schools.
This leaves the majority of school districts with zero state dollars for improved programming, updating of facilities, or
safety upgrades. The local taxpayers will again be asked to fill the void of the state’s share of funding. The William Penn et
al. v. PA Dept. of Ed. et al. lawsuit was filed in 2014 citing that the state failed to provide adequate funding for all students
to receive the resources they need to meet state imposed academic standards and thrive in today’s world. The efforts to fix
Pennsylvania’s broken school funding system may finally be realized because the Commonwealth Court has set a schedule for
hearing the facts in the case for summer of 2020.
The Brentwood Borough School District joined the 21 other partner organizations creating the PA Schools Work campaign
to call for a $400 million dollar increase to be run through the formula. The subsidy money would be used to support school
district programming instead of being funneled to PSERS system and charter schools. Local tax payers would not be relied
upon to fund the missing portion of the state’s share.
WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE IN BRENTWOOD?
Local tax payers
contribute
Governor’s Budget and PA Schools Work
56% of
funding to the
Brentwood
Borough School
District.
Brentwood
Borough School
District
ranks 150
out of 500
school districts
in tax payer
contributions.
$4 million $15,408
is what the
state would
need to provide
to the district to
be fully funded.
This is the
equivalent is the cost of
educating a
student in the
Brentwood
Borough school
district and
of 10.25 out of 500
school districts
with #1 being
ranked the
highest.
mills.
64
BRENTWOOD-BALDWIN-WHITEHALL
ranks 197
Special
Education costs
increased
Charter
School Tuition
increased
45% with
0% increase in 342% —
Meaning that
funding. $529,432
has left the
Brentwood
Borough
School District
classrooms.