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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2021 - 2022
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 14, 2021 02:21 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Joe Ciresi |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Establishing a Shared Services Grant for School Districts |
| With strained budgets, school districts throughout our state are looking for ways to provide needed amenities without raising taxes. Sharing services with neighboring school districts can offer a solution by saving money (and reducing property taxes), eliminating layers of bureaucracy, improving access, and fostering long-term sustainability – while maintaining local representation and community identity. Fortunately, we have it in our power as the state legislature to help school districts in these efforts. This is why I am introducing a bill establishing a new shared services grant program for public school entities, including school districts and intermediate units. The Department of Education will administer this program with funding appropriated by the state legislature and will award grant money for shared services such as regionalization, consolidation, shared capacity, boundary change, and personnel sharing. This approach has been highlighted by the Joint State Government Commission as a way to encourage sharing resources and reducing costs, allowing local governments to benefit from economies of scale. While the Municipal Assistance Program (MAP) offered by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) helps counties and municipalities with shared services, no equivalent program currently exists for education. By creating one, we would empower school districts to work together by providing state support to locally-driven cooperation initiatives, making sure more money is spent on providing services and less on administration. This legislation is supported by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) and the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units (PAIU). Join me in supporting this legislation to help enhance the capabilities of school districts and public schools throughout our state while increasing efficiency. Prior Co-Sponsors (As HB 2760): CIRESI, GALLOWAY, WEBSTER, KINSEY, ROZZI, FREEMAN, McNEILL, PASHINSKI, SCHWEYER, HILL-EVANS, SANCHEZ, LEE, KOSIEROWSKI, MADDEN, JONES, WILLIAMS, DONATUCCI, DAVIDSON, MERSKI, THOMAS, KENYATTA, WHEATLEY, DALEY, DELLOSO and KORTZ |
Introduced as HB805