Bill gives public schools relief from mandates pending cuts
HARRISBURG - As state education cuts are debated, the Senate took initial steps Tuesday to place limits on the ability of school boards to hike property taxes to provide offsetting revenue.
One bill approved by the Senate Education Committee would require a two-thirds vote rather than a majority vote by a school board to hike property taxes. Another bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee would erase exceptions that allow a school board to avoid a public referendum on a property tax hike that exceeds an inflation index.
The education committee also approved a large package of bills to give public schools relief from mandates so they can cope with the pending state aid cuts. These include measures to allow teacher furloughs for economic reasons, give schools the option of hiring a registered nurse rather than continuing to employ a certified nurse and enable schools along Pennsylvania's borders to end transportation for students attending out-of-state private schools.
Republican senators took the lead in pushing action on most of these bills, which will face floor votes later this spring. They are acting in concert with Gov. Tom Corbett who in his inaugural address called for putting property tax hikes above the inflation rate on the ballot for approval. The governor specifically endorsed teacher furloughs for economic reasons in the same speech.
The committee votes occur as the GOP-controlled House and Senate start to reshape Corbett's $27.3 billion state budget proposal in the weeks ahead to reflect their own spending priorities. Corbett has proposed a $500 million cut in the state basic education subsidy to school districts and elimination of other education programs as federal stimulus aid runs out.
Requiring a two-thirds tax vote is a taxpayer-friendly mandate, said Sen. Jeffrey Piccola, R-15, Harrisburg, the education panel chairman.
That view was challenged by Sen. Daylin Leach, D-17, King of Prussia, who said schools would find it more difficult to raise revenues as they absorb state aid cuts and face a potential loss of student reimbursement money if a school choice voucher program is enacted.
The vote in the finance committee supports a bill that allows school boards to get around a referendum requirement for property tax hikes above an inflation index. Under current state law, districts can ask the education department to waive the requirement so they can pay for pension obligations, special education costs and school construction debt.
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