$27B State Budget Passes: T/E Gets $1M More than Governor's Proposal

The race to get a state budget signed on time is now one signature away from the finish line.  For the first time in eight years, state lawmakers have passed a budget for the commonwealth before the deadline of midnight on June 30th. The budget passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives late Wednesday night by a 109-92 vote,along party lines. Only two Republicans voted against the $27.15 billion budget. State House Democrats decried the budget, calling it "harsh" and "an unprecedented attack on public education that will hurt kids, cause thousands of job losses, and harm Pennsylvania’s economic competitiveness."

As passed Wednesday night, the budget calls for significant spending cuts and no state tax increases. Governor Tom Corbett is expected to sign the budget into law Thursday.

Corbett's 2012 budget and the legislature's timing marks a stark contrast to the budgets signed by former Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat, which saw budgets with significant increases passed by the then Democrat-controlled house after the June 30th deadline had passed.

Impact on T/E School District

The Governor's proposed one billion dollar cuts in state education funding have caused big budget problems for local school districts around the state. Earlier this month, the Tredyffrin/Easttown School Board t, or $171 for the average T/E homeowner.

Freshman Republican Representative Warren Kampf (PA-157) who represents the T/E area in Harrisburg issued a press release late Wednesday saying the budget that passed the house restores some of the money to T/E that the Governor's proposed spending plan would have cut.

Kampf's statement says the Tredyffrin-Easttown School District will now receive  $ 1.276 million more than in the the Governor's budget proposal. Kampf says T/E will receive a total of $5.206 million in the budget passed last night. Kampf's news release says the other three school districts he represents will also get more under the budget that passed Tuesday than they would have under the governor's proposed spending plan. You can read details in the press release by clicking here.

Would the extra state money have reduced tax increase?

While more than pocket change, it would seem unlikely that the additional $1.276 million would not have had much impact on the taken on June 13th. As reported on T/E Patch, the district is spending money from a fund balance (think of it as the district's savings account) to close a budget gap for the upcoming school year. But projections show the district is facing a . The additional $1.276 million will likely be used to restore money the School Board voted to take from the district's bank balance to close the gap in the 2011-2012 school year. The T/E School Board's next scheduled meeting is August 22nd.