Pa. governor, lawmakers resume talks with GOP offer of school aid

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers said today they will meet a key demand of Gov. Tom Wolf’s to boost public school aid, even if it requires a tax increase, but they continued insisting on an end to the traditional benefit in Pennsylvania’s two big public pension systems.

Leaders of the Pennsylvania Legislature’s Republican majorities made the offer during a brief meeting with the Democratic governor in the Capitol. It came amid a 7-week-old budget stalemate that has started to shut down crucial safety-net services around Pennsylvania as Wolf and Republicans trade barbs in public.

The offer by Republicans meant they were summarily rejecting Wolf’s week-old offer to keep most of the traditional pension benefit intact for hundreds of thousands of future public employees. But it also upped Republicans’ commitment by $300 million to the state’s primary funding program for public schools, bringing it to the $6.1 billion Wolf has sought, up from last year’s $5.7 billion.