Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Urges New, Long-Term Investment in Student Achievement...

Pennsylvania Governor Rendell Urges New, Long-Term Investment in Student
Achievement That Takes Burden Off of Local Property Taxes

Pocono Mountain Seeks to Invest in Extra Help for Struggling Students; smaller
Class Sizes; expanded use of technology

SWIFTWATER, Pa., May 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Edward G. Rendell
today said his proposed school funding law will provide the Pocono Mountain
School District in Monroe County with $6.4 million in new resources by 2014,
helping to offset the burden on local taxpayers and meeting the goals of the
General Assembly's recent Costing-Out Report.

Statewide, the Governor's school funding plan would invest $2.6 billion over
the next six years with a new funding formula based on the results of the
General Assembly's report, which, for the first time ever, set a
per-pupil-funding target to provide a high-quality education in each school
district. According to this report, Pocono Mountain has a shortfall of $751
per pupil.

The Governor said local taxpayers have paid the price of the state's failure
to adequately fund schools. In school districts in Monroe County, property
taxes have increased an average of 27 percent in just the past 5 years.

"It is time for the state to pay its fair share in moving every district
towards adequate school funding," Governor Rendell said during the fourth of a
series of roundtable discussions he is holding at schools across Pennsylvania.
"When the state lives up to its responsibility, we take the burden off of
local taxpayers and put new resources in the classroom."

New state investment over the past five years has resulted in across-the-board
gains in student achievement throughout Pennsylvania, and the commonwealth is
one of only nine states that have made significant progress in elementary
school reading and math over the past four years.

"Pennsylvania is proving that smart investment means higher achievement,"
Governor Rendell said. "We must heed the General Assembly's Costing-Out Report
so that the quality of our children's education does not depend on the Zip
code where they live.

"A key strategy for long-term property tax relief and improving the quality of
education is for the General Assembly to adopt a school funding plan that
permanently reduces the pressure on local property tax increases."

Under Governor Rendell's plan, the Pocono Mountain School District would
receive an almost 5 percent increase of nearly $900,000 in its basic education
funding in the 2008-09 budget. The Governor's plan will invest approximately
$6.4 million in new funding in Pocono Mountain over the next six years - a 35
percent increase in the state basic education subsidy.
Over the next several years, Pocono Mountain proposes using its new funding to
increase student achievement through investments such as offering full-day
kindergarten; providing extra help for struggling students; reducing class
sizes; expanding foreign language instruction in grades 5-12; and integrating
new technology into classroom instruction.

The Governor's proposal also would aid other school districts in Monroe County
by providing increases of:

-- $7.8 million over the next six years in East Stroudsburg - a 70
percent
increase
-- $13.2 million over the next six years in Pleasant Valley - a 69
percent
increase
-- $4.6 million over the next six years in Stroudsburg Area - a 54
percent
increase

The Governor noted it would take a 12 percent property tax increase
county-wide to generate the same amount of new revenue on the local level.

Governor Rendell said the 6-year plan to increase the state's basic education
investment by $2.6 billion would use a three-step, annual formula:

1. Calculate the adequacy target for every school district. Governor
Rendell's proposal starts with the formula recommended by the General
Assembly's Costing-Out Report for determining an adequate level of regular
education school funding in each school district.

2. Calculate the state share of each school district's adequacy gap. Once
each school district's adequacy target is determined, it is compared to the
district's actual spending. The difference is the district's adequacy gap.
Governor Rendell's proposal phases in each school district's state investment
towards adequate funding over six years. The level of state funding is
determined by adjusting each school district's total gap to reflect the level
of local wealth and the district's existing tax burden.

3. Ensure that new resources increase educational services for students. The
Governor's proposal ensures that taxpayers will have confidence that these
significant new resources are being used for the most effective strategies for
boosting student achievement. Any school district that receives a basic
education funding increase that is more than the Act 1 inflation index (4.4
percent for 2008-09) is required to spend the portion of its increase above
the index for proven school improvement strategies, including:

-- More time and support for students to learn;
-- Smaller classes;
-- Pre-kindergarten and full-day kindergarten;
-- A strong curriculum and teacher training; and
-- Effective teachers, principals and superintendents.

Comprehensive information about the Governor's funding plan may be found at
www.pde.state.pa.us. Choose the icon for "Proposed 2008-2009 Education
Budget," or contact the Department of Education's communications office at
717-783-9802.

The Rendell administration is committed to creating a first-rate public
education system, protecting our most vulnerable citizens and continuing
economic investment to support our communities and businesses.To find out more
about Governor Rendell's initiatives and to sign up for his weekly newsletter,
visit www.governor.state.pa.us.

CONTACT:
Chuck Ardo
717-783-1116

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the Governor

Chuck Ardo of Pennsylvania Office of the Governor, +1-717-783-1116