State Education Budget
The state budget provides for extensive financing and regulation of education programs. In addition to basic education funding, reimbursement for transportation costs, social security costs and teacher pension costs, the state provides special education funding and competitive grants. Among the Commonwealth's competitive grants have been: Classrooms for the Future which paid for computers for high schools with teacher training (450 school districts participated); Science Its Elementary which paid for science programs in elementary schools, Environment program grants supervised by the Department of Environmental Protection and Common Cents which paid for outside auditors to assist school boards in identifying ways to save on a plethora of administration processes. The state also supervises the disbursement of federal funds like Title 1 funding, Special Education funding, School Improvement Grants, and 21st Century Learning grants.
- Pennsylvania K-12 state budget
- 2012 - $5.4 billion BEF plus $100 million Accountability Block Grant
- 2011 - $5.35 billion BEF plus $100 million Accountability Block Grant
- 2010 - $5.52 billion BEF plus $271 million Accountability Block Grant
- 2009 - $5.22 billion BEF plus $271 million Accountability Block Grant
The state budget allotted over $11.4 billion for education-related programs in the 2008-2009 fiscal year. Governor Rendell’s proposed 2009-2010 budget suggests a 1.5% increase in education expenditures.
The Rendell Administration has successfully proposed a number of education-related programs, including funding of pre-kindergarten and full kindergarten education. On February 3, 2009, in his annual budget presentation, Governor Rendell proposed a tuition relief program to make college more affordable for Pennsylvania residents. The proposal would benefit families earning up to $100,000 a year who have students attending any of Pennsylvania’s 14 community colleges or the 14 public universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. When the proposal was made, Education Secretary Zahorchak stated that the plan would start in the fall of 2009 with incoming freshmen and benefit more than 170,000 students once it is fully implemented. He also predicted that the plan would help approximately 10,000 students who would not otherwise be able to afford college or who would leave Pennsylvania to attend college. The proposal suggests funding through revenues collected from the legalization and regulation of video poker in bars and clubs in Pennsylvania.
Read more about this topic: Education In Pennsylvania
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