Governor Rendell and the State Legislature have ironed out the final kinks in the State budget. It looks like in its final form that no school district in the state will receive less than a 3% increase in State funding. In the budget we passed in May, Mt Lebanon had budgeted for a 1.5% increase based on the information we had at the time. While this is a nice change, the amount we get from the state (between $5-6 million in basic education subsidies) is relatively small in comparison to what we get in real estate taxes. Additionally, the agreement funds special education services at a 1.7% increase instead of the original 3% increase proposed by the Governor. All in all, it looks to be a wash for Mt Lebanon.
You can read the Philadelphia Enquirer story here.
The other part of this story that is not being reported enough is that it appears that a Statewide Graduation Competency Exam is off the table for now. You may remember that the Mt Lebanon School Board passed a resolution opposing GCE's a while back. It was good to see our elected officials in state office stand up to this idea. This budget includes no funding for the GCE's.
James
