DePasquale wants $30 million for struggling school districts
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Democratic state Rep. Eugene DePasquale proposed legislation this morning that would direct $30 million to 18 academically and fiscally distressed school districts to be used for research-based methods of improving academic achievement.
Among the Western Pennsylvania districts that would be eligible to receive some of the funding are Woodland Hills, McKeesport Area, Clairton, Sto-Rox and Aliquippa.
Mr. DePasquale, who represents York, suggested the revenue for his proposal come from a tax on the Marcellus Shale industry or from spending cuts on corrections.
Notably missing from the list was the Duquesne City School District, the poorest district in Allegheny County and among the poorest in the state.
Including Duquesne on the list remains an option if the district remains open next year, Mr. DePasquale said.
Last spring officials from the state Department of Education announced that the K-8 district would cease to exist beyond the 2011-2012 school year. Its high school was closed in June 2007 and high school students from Duquesne are sent on a tuition basis to either East Allegheny or West Mifflin Area high schools.
Also included in the legislation is the Chester Upland School District in Delaware County, which ran out of money in January and needed an advance on its state subsidies -- received through a federal court mediation -- to continue to pay teachers.
Mr. DePasquale said he realized that $30 million split among 18 school districts would not solve all of the financial problems for those districts -- particularly Chester Upland, which faces a $30 million deficit -- but that it would be enough to restore some of the needed programs.
A candidate for state auditor general, Mr. DePasquale said he expects further cuts to education next week when Gov. Tom Corbett unveils his budget for 2012-2013. He predicted the cuts would run so deep that schools across the state would be forced to close.
Mr. DePasquale called his proposal the Priority Assistance Grant for Education.
Eligible schools would be required to use their share of the funds to pay for programs that have been shown through research to be proven successful in improving academic achievement. He cited full-day kindergarten, small class sizes and tutoring initiatives.
Those efforts were among the items that a number of financially struggling school districts were required to cut for the 2011-2012 school year after state education budget cuts of nearly $900 million.
Officials from the state education department could not be reached immediately for comment.
The districts who qualify for the funds would be monitored by a state commission that would be made up of representatives from the state education department, school board members, academic leaders and superintendents from across the state.
Mr. DePasquale said state Sen. Judy Schwank, D-Berks County, will introduce similar legislation in the state senate.
First Published February 1, 2012 12:14 pm
