HARRISBURG Senate sends education spending bill to House

The Sharon district has had to borrow money to cover the lack of state funds.
STAFF/WIRE REPORTS
HARRISBURG -- In the latest partisan battle over the state budget, Senate Republicans have passed a $1.47 billion education spending bill, although the bill faces a sure veto by Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell because it does not address his priorities on education.
The bill, which passed 27-20 in a party-line vote Monday night, goes to the House, where a spokesman for the majority leader said he did not expect a vote this week.
"We're hoping that we don't need to do a stopgap bill," said Steve Miskin, press secretary for Rep. Sam Smith, R-Jefferson. Miskin said House Republicans have been making progress in talks with Rendell and hope to have a more comprehensive education funding bill.
The pending legislation could come just in time to allow school districts to forego borrowing money to cover the state's failure to make the August and perhaps the October subsidy payments.
Sharon City School Board, for example, has been told the district will run out of money by mid-October and be $350,000 short by the end of the month.
The board is expected to consider borrowing money through a tax anticipation loan to keep the doors open. That vote could be taken at the October board meeting.
James Wolf, the district's business manager, said the lack of a state budget resulted in Sharon's not getting its first of four $1.6 million subsidy payments that was due Aug. 28.
What bill would do
The bill would use the amount of unappropriated cash that the state has on hand to cover the public school subsidy payment due in October and the payment that was missed in August, plus a little more.
Sen. James J. Rhoades, R-Schuylkill, said during floor comments that a debate on "what is good for public education" should happen "without threatening our school districts."
"Schools are having to borrow to pay their costs and that is wrong," said Erik Arneson, the chief of staff for the Senate Republican leader, David J. Brightbill of Lebanon County.
Steve Crawford, the governor's secretary for legislative affairs, said Rendell would veto the measure.
Asked about the bill earlier Monday when it was rumored that Senate Republicans would bring it up, Rendell replied that "I would probably veto it, because the Legislature has been putting off making the hard decisions. All that would do is delay work on a final package."
Republicans "do not want to sit down and negotiate a real budget, one that has true educational reform," Sen. Vincent Fumo, D-Philadelphia, said in comments on the Senate floor. "The vote [Monday night] is irrelevant."
The dispute
The bill came about Monday after months of jousting between Rendell and the Republican-dominated Legislature over education spending.
Although a wider budget bill is in place, Rendell has held up more than $4 billion in basic education subsidies to force Republicans to address his education priorities, including wider early childhood education, tutoring and teacher training.
Rendell has proposed a $560 million package, although Republicans have resisted it, saying it costs too much.
House Republicans have signaled more of a willingness to work with Rendell on his plans, including on education, slot machines and property tax reduction.
Senate Republicans have passed their own education subsidy bills and a property tax reduction bill that Rendell had promised to veto. None of those bills passed the House.