Preschool funding increased in Pa., but dropped nationwide

Submitted by thenotebook on Wed, 05/01/2013 - 11:58 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Julie Mazziotta

Pennsylvania stands as one of only a few states to increase preschool funding during the 2011-12 school year, according to a report by the National Institute for Early Education Research.

As President Obama looks to increase pre-K funding by $75 billion over the next decade, state funding for pre-K programs dropped by over half a billion dollars nationwide, the biggest single-year drop ever, according to the report.

The District’s central office grew in 2012, budget documents show

Submitted by Paul Socolar on Tue, 04/30/2013 - 17:07 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

For the last 18 months, District officials have frequently highlighted the steps they've taken to slash the central office bureaucracy as a way of dealing with an enormous budget gap that came to light in 2011.

They did not highlight their decision to change course and add some jobs back.

Full of questions, Council makes no commitment on more funds for District

Submitted by thenotebook on Mon, 04/29/2013 - 22:44 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

by Bill Hangley Jr.

District officials met with City Council today to warn that unless Council, the state legislature, and the teachers' union pitch in, next year’s “dire” budget will transform schools into bare-bones operations stripped of all but the most basic staff and programming.

But City Council President Darrell Clarke said, dire or not, there’s a long way to go before Council can find the $60 million that District officials are requesting as the city’s share to plug an unprecedented $300 million structural deficit.

“To suggest that there’s going to be any additional taxes … I think is a stretch at this time,” Clarke said. “I can personally say that without a significant increase  in funding from the state, I don’t think there’s going to be any appetite at the local level to do anything.”

The big budget book: 10 things to consider

Submitted by Paul Socolar on Mon, 04/29/2013 - 09:40 Posted in Latest news | Permalink

With City Council convening Monday morning for its annual hearings on the School District and its finances, at least a few journalists and local activists spent part of the beautiful spring weekend preparing by trying to make sense of the District’s just-released 350-page “consolidated budget” for the coming year.

It’s dense and dry, but the document does give a detailed picture of what the District looks like now and what’s ahead. A somewhat easier read is the District's "budget in brief," but that got posted online too late on Sunday to be previewed.