HARRISBURG – A new education funding formula developed by Governor Wolf will cut a cumulative total of $2,758,013 from local schools in Berks and Schuylkill Counties, according to Senator David G. Argall (R-Schuylkill/Berks).
The state budget approved by lawmakers in March included an additional $200 million for public schools. The formula to determine how the money is driven out was contained in House Bill 1327, also known as the budget-related Fiscal Code. The formula was developed after months of public hearings and bipartisan cooperation among lawmakers, school administrators, education advocates, teachers and parents in order to reflect the factors that drive the cost of education.
On April 4, 2016, the governor vetoed the Fiscal Code and created his own formula to drive out public education funding. As a result, 86 percent of Pennsylvania’s 500 public school districts will receive less money under this plan than they would have received under the bipartisan Basic Education Funding Formula. All but one school district in the 29th Senatorial District will receive less money under the governor’s plan.
Under the governor’s formula, three of the state’s five hundred school districts will receive $100 million of the overall increase. Philadelphia schools will receive an additional $78 million, including $34 million that was taken from rural school districts throughout the state.
Below is a breakdown of how school districts in the 29th District will be impacted by the governor’s funding formula compared to the Basic Education Funding Formula approved by the General Assembly:
Berks County (29th Senatorial District portion)
| Conrad Weiser Area School District | $116,343 |
| Fleetwood Area School District | $140,869 |
| Hamburg Area School District | $86,761 |
| Kutztown Area School District | $45,987 |
| Schuylkill Valley School District | $132,440 |
| Tulpehocken Area School District | $57,469 |
| Wilson School District | $403,052 |
Schuylkill County
| Blue Mountain School District | $59,618 |
| Hazleton Area School District | $1,142,386 |
| Mahanoy Area School District | $70,113 |
| Minersville Area School District | $43,033 |
| North Schuylkill School District | $6,613 |
| Panther Valley School District | $96,094 |
| Pine Grove Area School District | $7,126 |
| Pottsville Area School District | $57,592 |
| Saint Clair Area School District | $36,452 |
| Schuylkill Haven Area School District | $31,659 |
| Shenandoah Valley School District | $152,179 |
| Tamaqua Area School District | $78,747 |
| Tri-Valley School District | $43,366 |
| Williams Valley School District | $49,884 |
Every local school district, with the exception of the Williams Valley School District, will receive less funding under the governor’s funding formula. Reading Area School District will lose $3,699,346 under the governor’s funding formula.
To see a listing of all school districts, please click here.