Pennsylvania Budget Turmoil Continues

July 13, 2023 4:31 am

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A court’s ruling earlier this year that the way Pennsylvania funds public schools is unconstitutional helped make education spending one of the thorniest issues in state budget negotiations. The state government is approaching a second week without full spending authority. The final OK on a $45 billion spending plan has been stymied over a dispute about creating a $100 million program to allocate state subsidies for students in the lowest performing districts to attend private or religious schools. Complicating matters is the judge’s ruling, which ordered the Legislature and governor to fix the system but with no guidance about how — or how quickly — it should be done.