In Pennsylvania’s school funding dilemma, there’s a little-known mechanism that pits the western half of the state against the east — the hold harmless provision. The provision dictates how 71% of state funding is spent and prevents districts with shrinking student populations from losing funding. Western school districts tend to benefit from it, while districts in the eastern part of the state, and particularly in the populous and growing Philadelphia region, lose out on millions of dollars and have to raise property taxes to keep up. Although it’s controversial, the hold harmless provision will likely remain untouched as Gov. Josh Shapiro and state lawmakers work to develop a new funding formula to divvy up more than $8 billion in state funding between the state’s 500 school districts. According to an Inquirer analysis, 317 of the state’s 500 school districts gain from the hold harmless policy, with most of the schools losing students each year. But a majority of Pennsylvania’s students attend the other 183 school districts that lose out each year by failing to account for increasing enrollment and student needs. The dynamic creates a complicated political dilemma in the wake of the Commonwealth Court ruling last year that found the current school funding approach unconstitutional because it shortchanges poor districts and fails to account for student needs. Shapiro, a Democrat, and the divided General Assembly now must design a new way to fund public schools — and public school advocates say it will cost an additional $6.2 billion over five years to do it right. Next, Shapiro and the General Assembly will seek to agree on a solution in the coming months and include it in the next state budget. Lawmakers all have their own motivations and will likely each advocate for the option that brings more money home to their school districts. Read more here.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 1/10/2024