Elected officials discuss state education issues
“Right now the bill is dead,” state Sen. Randy Vulakovich, R-Shaler, told those who gathered last week at Fox Chapel Area High School to discuss education issues with elected officials.
He was referring to Bill 76, which proposes funding Pennsylvania schools by increasing income and sales taxes instead of using property taxes, the current funding source. The bill would not have eliminated property taxes entirely. School districts would still have had the ability to use property taxes to cover existing school debt.
For that reason plus the loss of local control, Fox Chapel Area administrators do not see the bill as a viable alternative.
The April 20 discussion was a meeting of the District Forum, a group of Fox Chapel Area residents that meets regularly to discuss various policies and topics.
Mr. Vulakovich said similar school tax bills have been debated in Harrisburg since the 1970s but only recently have progressed to the point of serious consideration. Independent groups have organized just to press the issue, he said, adding he expects discussions on school property taxes to continue.
State Rep. Dom Costa, DStanton Heights, agreed with district administrators that sales taxes would not be a reliable way to fund schools.
State Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, said he received at least 500 emails from Fox Chapel Area residents. “And they were all the same. You’d have to be out of your mind to say you wouldn’t want property tax relief. But raising personal income taxes and sales taxes is not the way to do it.”
State Rep. Hal English, RHampton, agreed. “The four of us at this table don’t see this as a workable solution.”
Fox Chapel Area superintendent Gene Freeman received applause when he suggested that town hall meetings be held across the state before such legislation is proposed again.
Elizabeth Klamut, president of District Forum, asked if the state is considering how to make the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and Keystone exams less time-consuming and more useful as tools for measuring student progress.
Mr. Vulakovich said most senators dislike the idea of requiring the Keystone exam as part of a statewide graduation requirement. The General Assembly has decided to delay using the test as a graduation requirement until 2018-19 and has passed legislation asking the state Education Department to study the future of the Keystone exams.
Mr. Costa said the legislation includes reducing the time devoted to testing as well as eliminating redundancies between the PSSA and the Keystone exams. “We want our children to learn, not to take tests,” he said.
Mr. Freeman said the district’s biggest issue with the tests is that the results do not provide useful feedback for teachers or students.
Ms. Klamut noted that the district’s state-mandated pension payment increased last year by $4 million. “Our children have to deal with cuts because of the pension,” she said. The district’s charter school cost — $700,000 last year — also was brought up.
On the topic of state Bill 383, which would allow districts to let staff carry guns in schools, Mr. Vulakovich said it is a local issue and districts across the state should be allowed to make their own decisions.