Peduto needs to get his facts straight
I am responding to the comments of Mayor Bill Peduto, reported in the Post-Gazette’s Nov. 24 article “Tensions Rise After Auditor General’s Report,” discussing the current issues between Pittsburgh Public Schools and the city. There are factual errors and erroneous implications on the part of the mayor which require correction and clarification.
First, the mayor cites Act 47 oversight as a solution for PPS. Act 47 creates the process for municipalities to be declared financially distressed and receive assistance from the state Department of Community and Economic Development. It does not apply to school districts. School districts, which are governed by the Public School Code, are under the constant oversight of the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which reviews the budgets of all school districts.
Under the School Code, the Department of Education has the power to place a financially challenged school district on a “watch list” and if the circumstances warrant, declare the school district financially distressed. Pittsburgh Public Schools meets none of the criteria for either the watch list or financially distressed status. The fund balance it seeks to maintain, 5%, is the minimum fund balance recommended by the Department of Education. This fund balance carries the school district through emergencies and addresses the need to maintain operations when there is a delay in approval of the state budget, which in turn delays the payment of state subsidy to school districts.
Second, the diversion of .25% of the school district’s 2% earned income tax is not the result of a “deal” and did not occur during the Masloff administration, as asserted by the mayor. Rather, it was the result of legislative fiat which occurred in the early days of the administration of Mayor Tom Murphy in 2004 when Mr. Peduto was a member of City Council. The legislation was unprecedented in diverting the revenues of one elected body and giving those revenues to another elected body. This has never occurred before. There is no precedent for this action.
It is no surprise that the mayor supports this. In the words of the Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw, “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.”
Facts and history are important in understanding the current issues that exist between the city and school district. It is important to get the facts straight.
IRA WEISS
Oakland