Little Change in School District Funding in Corbett's Budget Proposal

Governor Tom Corbett presented his budget proposal to both houses of the state legislature Tuesday and, as expected, it reflects the state’s difficult financial situation.

There are plenty of cuts to address the state’s revenue shortfall, but it does not include any tax increases. In fact, Corbett said he would work with lawmakers on the budget but said tax increases were not an option.

Early Tuesday morning philly.com reported that aid to state universities would be cut 20% to 30%, which Corbett confirmed early in his speech. Pitt, Temple and Penn State face 30% cuts while other state schools would see aid cut 20% under Corbett’s plan according to PennLive.com's Twitter feed. Community colleges would see a 4% decrease in funding.

PennLive.com also determined that if the legislature passes the plan as is, Penn State would have seen its aid cut 50% in the first two years of Corbett’s administration. Corbett opened his address by asking for .

Closer to home, aid to local school districts would increase about 3%, but most of that increase would go toward funding pension obligations. In effect, aid would remain at last year’s levels.

"The rationale here is clear. Local districts know better how to spend and allocate resources than do bureaucrats in Harrisburg," Corbett said during his address. "We leave the Basic Education Funding formula at its current level. There are no cuts. In fact, you will find a slight increase. Just as we did last year."

Corbett advocated the use of block grants "to give counties and school districts the flexibility to adjust to their own, unique needs."

State employees are largely spared under the proposal, which shows about 650 jobs being eliminated, mostly through attrition. In addition, no state police stations will be closed and the budget includes a class of 115 new cadets.

Unlike last year, Corbett did not discuss selling the state’s liquor stores.

Corbett quoted former presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan to support his plan to "right size" the state's welfare system. He quoted FDR's third state of the union speech – "To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit," – and used a portion of a 1982 Reagan speech – "Big government has a way of spending all the money it can get its hands on, and then some. Not only does this excessive taxation put a ball and chain around our economy, it simply does not solve our spending problem."

His plan to "right-size" welfare includes some work requirements for 30,000 recipients and new eligibility rules.

Corbett also quoted President Obama on his plan to cut back on state funding of universities.

"If you can't stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can't be a luxury," Corbett said. "It's an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.''