Many local districts would gain

Philadelphia, Upper Darby and Norristown are among school districts in the area that would benefit most from Gov. Rendell's plan to give more money to the neediest, but more than half of the districts in the region would get a smaller funding increase than they got last year.

Rendell outlined the funding formula yesterday in which an additional $291 million would be distributed among the state's 501 school districts. That's an increase of 5.9 percent over the nearly $5 billion the state spent last year. It also is Rendell's largest proposed increase in his five-year tenure and the first "down payment," his administration says, toward fixing the state's inequitable school-funding system.

The proposal follows a study the state legislature commissioned in the fall that said Pennsylvania underfunds districts by $4.38 billion, with wide disparities across districts.

The 64 districts in the five-county Philadelphia area would get $114.2 million of the increase, about 39 percent.

The biggest share, about $85 million, would go to Philadelphia, the state's largest district with about 167,000 students and one of its most impoverished; three-quarters of its students come from low-income homes.

The rest of the districts would split $29.2 million, about 10 percent of the statewide allotment, with better-off districts getting only the minimum increase, 1.5 percent.

Rendell's plan, fleshed out by state education officials yesterday, drew a mixed reaction.

"Hats off to Gov. Rendell and his vision and his commitment to following through on the [state] study," said Tom Brady, the Philadelphia School District's interim chief executive officer. "Now we just need all of our advocates to make sure the legislature agrees with his vision."

The state provides 54 percent of Philadelphia's current $2.18 billion budget, which also includes state funding for special education, alternative schools, charter schools and other areas.

Mayor Nutter and local education advocates, who have long been critical of the inequities in school funding, issued statements in support of Rendell's plan, which would increase basic funding to Philadelphia by 9.6 percent.

The Rendell administration has promised to propose similar increases in the next two budgets and has set out a six-year plan that, if followed by the next governor, would increase education spending by $2.6 billion by the final year.

"We really believe it's a great start," said Michael Churchill, counsel at the Public Interest Law Center in Philadelphia. "It contains the seeds of a formula that Pennsylvania has been lacking since 1991 which has the potential to reduce the huge disparities in funding around the state."

Last school year, for example, the Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County planned to spend $21,310 per student, compared with $9,997 in Upper Darby in Delaware County.

The new formula, based on the one outlined in the legislature's study, would give more money to districts with large numbers of children living in poverty and/or learning to speak English. Other factors, such as the cost of living, district size and enrollment growth, also would be considered.

"Simply put, districts where local taxes are higher get the most assistance in closing the gap," State Education Secretary Gerald Zahorchak said.

Under the proposed formula, 33 of the region's districts would get only the minimum 1.5 percent increase, .5 percent less than they received last year.

"It's always disappointing to get less money," said Roseann Nyiri, superintendent of the 2,100-student Springfield Township School District in Montgomery County. "It does place an undue burden on our community."

Local taxpayers fund 88 percent of the district's budget.

"I think that we all need more, because all of our costs are going up," she said.

Lorraine DeTurk, business manager of the Wallingford- Swarthmore School District in Delaware County, was frustrated as well.

"The mandates keep coming but the money doesn't. They should be providing more of the funding for the schools in general," she said.

Upper Darby, which has had a huge influx of poor students with limited English skills, would get an increase of $4.9 million, or 22.4 percent, the largest percentage jump in the state.

Upper Darby Assistant Superintendent Lou DeVlieger was cautiously optimistic. He noted that the money would come with strings attached.

Districts would have to spend any additional money above the inflationary increase of about 4.4 percent on efforts to improve academics for their worst-performing students. That could include after-school tutoring, a longer school day or year, prekindergarten and full-day kindergarten classes, and new curriculum.

Recruiting incentives for principals and teachers and performance-pay incentives for principals and superintendents also would be allowed.

DeVlieger said his district needed the extra money to take the burden off taxpayers.

"If it stipulates new things to do that we're not already doing, then it won't help the local property-tax problem that we have. The devil is in the details," he said.

The legislature's study said the Upper Darby district needed $53.9 million more, and DeVlieger said he hoped Rendell's proposal was just the beginning.

Joseph Otto, business manager in Delaware County's William Penn School District, said Rendell's proposal was long overdue and was just a small first step. William Penn would get an increase of $2.2 million, or 13.4 percent.

"They need to address the problems of districts like ours that struggle," Otto said.

Rendell's budget also proposes increases in other areas, such as special education, elementary science and prekindergarten. Overall, education spending for prekindergarten through 12th grade would rise about $499 million, or 5 percent.