Schools' friend in Harrisburg

By William E. Harner

Gov. Corbett and his administration are attuned to the Philadelphia School District's $304 million budget shortfall. Finding a long-term solution that is student-centered and fiscally responsible is paramount.

I and other members of the Corbett administration recently met with Mayor Nutter, Superintendent William Hite, and other school and community leaders to discuss the district's fiscal challenges. I subsequently traveled to Philadelphia to learn more firsthand.

This kind of fiscal crisis has occurred several times before in the School District. Unfortunately, though, there has never been a long-term solution. To their credit, the city, the School Reform Commission, and the superintendent have such a solution this time around.

From Gov. Corbett's perspective, the city and district's strategy to close the budget gap is spot on. It puts children first and sets the conditions for operational excellence. It is data-driven, with an expectation that we will not be back at the drawing board next year amid another fiscal crisis. With the Philadelphia School District receiving 48 percent of its revenue from the state, the citizens of Pennsylvania should expect nothing less.

The plan calls on teachers, the city, and the state to work together to balance the budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year. The combination of contributions from all three will make the solution possible.

Teachers' contribution

As part of the proposed solution, Hite is asking district employees to pay a portion of their health-care costs; the School District currently covers 100 percent of those costs. With nearly all the teachers in the state now covering a portion of their health-care costs, asking Philadelphia school employees to contribute as well is more than fair.

Also, to ensure that teachers are on campus at the same time as students, Hite has asked teachers to increase their workday from seven hours and four minutes to eight hours. Compared with other school districts across the state, the Philadelphia School District currently has the shortest teacher workday.

Under the current teachers' contract, there is insufficient time allotted for professional development and collaboration. These are essential to advancing student and professional achievement. Improving the quality of instruction through professional development is just as important in Philadelphia as it is in the state's other 499 school districts.

These changes will help stem the financial drain on the School District and allow resources to be directed to the classroom to fund high-quality teaching and learning.

Governor's record

It's a common misconception that Gov. Corbett has reduced funding to Pennsylvania's public schools. Despite the difficult economy, he has done the exact opposite. Including the proposed 2013-14 state budget, the governor has increased total state funding to public schools by $1.25 billion over the past three years - more than restoring the $1.1 billion loss of federal stimulus funds in 2011.

Citizens spend more than $26.5 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenues on the state's public education system every year. Forty-one cents of every state tax dollar, or nearly $10 billion, is spent on the state's public education system, making it the largest expenditure in the state budget.

Under the governor, the Philadelphia School District has seen an increase of $104 million, or 12 percent, in basic education funding - the line item in the state budget that accounts for half of state support to public schools. That doesn't include the millions of additional dollars spent on special education, early-childhood development, transportation, retirement, and Social Security reimbursement. And all that is in spite of a significant decline in the district's enrollment.

The governor remains focused on finding a long-range solution for the Philadelphia School District that puts children first. He will continue to work with the members of the General Assembly as well as the mayor, City Council, and the superintendent over the next few weeks to solve this continuing financial problem for the long term.

Superintendents and school boards across the state are facing similar challenges and making tough decisions about what is truly important: providing a high-quality education for students during a tough economy. We are all in this together. The governor urges everyone to work together in the best interests of children.