A Capitol Perspective
A column by State Senator Pat Browne
16th Senatorial District
Of all the matters that come before the General Assembly
each year, the budget is arguably our most important task.
Since the budget provides essential funding for many
important state services, augments the finances of school
districts and generally sets the Commonwealth's priorities
for the coming year, it has a direct impact on communities
large and small – from Philadelphia to Whitehall and Bath.
The budget for Fiscal Year 2005-06 is no different in
that aspect. However, it was one of the more difficult
budgets simply because we had to find ways to fill in a $500
million gap in federal funding for our Medicaid program.
When all was said and done, we approved a budget that
mitigated Governor Rendell's proposed cuts in Medicaid
services and increased state support for education,
agriculture, environmental and public safety initiatives.
Certainly one of the key components of the state budget,
especially for high-growth areas involves the state's
support for public education. I am pleased to report that
education spending is at an unprecedented level.
We increased basic education subsidies well over the
Governor's request. We increased funding for Head Start and
for our community colleges. With this budget, we are helping
children prepare for school, helping schools improve and
helping young people move on to college and beyond.
The budget allocates $4.49 billion for local school
districts in support of basic education. That's a 3 percent
increase, representing an increase of $131.2 million over
last year. The budget includes supplemental funding totaling
$124.2 million in a number of areas to help poor districts,
growing districts, as well as small districts and districts
like Allentown and Bethlehem having significant numbers of
students with limited English proficiency. It also includes
a foundation supplement to help bring schools up to the
$8,500 per-student spending plateau, something I've
supported in the past with budget amendments.
Special education will receive an extra $24 million (2.5
percent) for a total of $953 million. Head Start funding
will double in FY 2005-06, with an increase of $15 million
for a total of $30 million for the program.
A $5 million line is also included this year to support
concurrent enrollment programs. By including the funding in
the budget, school districts and vo-tech schools will
receive state money for concurrent enrollment programs that
allow high school students to earn secondary and
post-secondary credit by taking college-level courses.
Even though the FY 2005-06 budget package is in place, we
can't be complacent. As we found out this year with the
Medicaid cuts, we're really at the starting point of a
long-term process. We have a budget, but we also have some
big challenges that we must address or we will have an even
worse problem next year.
