PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 2673 PRINTER'S NO. 3010
No. 460 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY SIPTROTH, MACKERETH, D. O'BRIEN, DeWEESE, McCALL, SCAVELLO, BRENNAN, CALTAGIRONE, CAPPELLI, CURRY, CUTLER, DePASQUALE, EACHUS, GEORGE, GINGRICH, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HARKINS, HERSHEY, HORNAMAN, KOTIK, LEVDANSKY, MANDERINO, McILVAINE SMITH, MICOZZIE, MYERS, NICKOL, PALLONE, PETRARCA, PETRONE, ROEBUCK, SAYLOR, SOLOBAY, SONNEY, STAIRS, STURLA, SURRA, WANSACZ, WOJNAROSKI, KULA, DALLY, YOUNGBLOOD, PASHINSKI, PAYTON, BARRAR, HENNESSEY, SWANGER, LENTZ AND VITALI, OCTOBER 18, 2007
AS REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AS AMENDED, DECEMBER 12, 2007
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1 Establishing the Joint Legislative Commission on Public School 2 Finance and providing for the powers and duties of the 3 commission. 4 WHEREAS, Section 14 of Article III of the Constitution of 5 Pennsylvania clearly gives the General Assembly sole authority 6 to "...provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and 7 efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the 8 Commonwealth"; and 9 WHEREAS, The General Assembly, as part of Act 114 of 2006, 10 amended the Public School Code of 1949 to direct the State Board 11 of Education to "...conduct or provide for a comprehensive 12 Statewide costing-out study to arrive at a determination of the 13 basic cost per pupil to provide an education that will permit a 14 student to meet the State's academic standards and assessments"
1 with a final report to be presented to the General Assembly one 2 year from the date the contract to conduct the study was signed; 3 and 4 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania spends in excess of 5 $14 billion on education in grades kindergarten through 12. 6 According to the National Education Association, in 2004-2005 7 Pennsylvania ranked 14th in expenditures per student at $9,638 8 per pupil, well above the national average of $8,618; and 9 WHEREAS, The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 10 places strict provisions for identification and services for 11 children with special needs. Federal funding for the Individuals 12 with Disabilities Education Act has historically been severely 13 underfunded; and 14 WHEREAS, The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which focuses 15 on accountability, requiring states to close any existing 16 achievement gaps and assure students are proficient in basic 17 core academic subjects, is underfunded by the Federal 18 Government; and 19 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth has established academic standards 20 and Statewide assessments in order to move Pennsylvania's 21 students toward defined proficiencies in core academic subjects; 22 and 23 WHEREAS, Over the past three decades, efforts have been made 24 throughout the nation to revise state systems for funding public 25 schools; and 26 WHEREAS, Both Federal and State courts have increasingly been 27 asked to review the constitutionality of educational funding 28 systems that rely on local property taxes; and 29 WHEREAS, Opposition to existing State funding systems has 30 centered on the argument that dependence on local property taxes 20070H0460R3010 - 2 -
1 yields disparities in funding between school districts that 2 violate constitutional provisions regarding equal protection, as 3 well as State constitutional obligations with regard to 4 education; and 5 WHEREAS, Pennsylvania currently ranks 11th in the nation in 6 the number of individual school districts; and 7 WHEREAS, Concerns have been raised that this large number of 8 administrative units is not cost effective and the merging of 9 some districts or regionalization of services would be more 10 efficient both economically and educationally; therefore be it 11 RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly 12 establish the Joint Legislative Commission on Public School 13 Finance as a means of analyzing the results of the State Board 14 of Education's costing-out study and making recommendations on 15 issues surrounding Pennsylvania's current system of funding 16 public education; and be it further 17 RESOLVED, That the commission have as its purpose identifying 18 what school districts AND THE COMMONWEALTH need to do to improve <-- 19 the chances of students, schools and the districts themselves 20 meeting the requirements of the State's accountability system; 21 and be it further 22 RESOLVED, That specific goals of the commission include 23 ensuring that State funds allocated for basic education funding 24 are distributed both adequately and equitably; that the 25 allocation of State funding addresses and is reflective of 26 unique characteristics among districts, including changes in 27 demography; that the allocation of State funding is linked with 28 measures of APPROPRIATE accountability; and that school <-- 29 districts remain accountable for meeting State academic 30 standards and attaining student proficiency; and be it further 20070H0460R3010 - 3 -
1 RESOLVED, That the commission consist of members appointed as 2 follows: 3 (1) A recognized expert in the field of public school 4 finance currently employed at a Commonwealth institution of 5 higher education to be chosen jointly by the President pro 6 tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 7 Representatives and who shall serve as the chairperson of the 8 commission. 9 (2) The chairman and minority chairman of the Education 10 Committee of the Senate and the chairman and minority 11 chairman of the Education Committee of the House of 12 Representatives or their designees who are members of the 13 respective committees. 14 (3) The chairman and minority chairman of the 15 Appropriations Committee of the Senate and the chairman and 16 minority chairman of the Appropriations Committee of the 17 House of Representatives or their designees who are members 18 of the respective committees. 19 (4) Four additional members of the General Assembly, one 20 of whom is to be appointed by each of the following: the 21 Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the 22 Senate, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives 23 and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. 24 (5) The Secretary of Education or a designee who shall 25 be a deputy secretary within the Department of Education. 26 (6) The Secretary of the Budget or a designee who shall 27 be an employee of the Office of the Budget. 28 (7) The chairperson of the State Board of Education or a 29 designee who shall be a member of the State Board of 30 Education. 20070H0460R3010 - 4 -
1 (8) Representatives of the State's basic education 2 community as follows: 3 (i) Four classroom teachers, two of whom shall be 4 appointed jointly by the Majority Leader of the Senate 5 and the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives 6 from a list provided by each of the established 7 recognized organizations representing the State's public 8 school employees. 9 (ii) A school business manager jointly appointed by 10 the Majority Leader of the Senate and the Majority Leader 11 of the House of Representatives from a list provided by 12 the Pennsylvania Association of School Business 13 Officials. 14 (iii) Three chief school administrators appointed 15 jointly by the Majority Leader of the Senate and the 16 Majority Leader of the House of Representatives from a 17 list provided by the Pennsylvania Association of School 18 Administrators, one from an urban school district, one 19 from a suburban school district and one from a rural 20 school district. 21 (iv) A vocational-technical school administrator 22 appointed jointly by the Majority Leader of the Senate 23 and the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives 24 from a list provided by the Pennsylvania Association of 25 Vocational Administrators. 26 (v) An intermediate unit director appointed jointly 27 by the Majority Leader of the Senate and the Majority 28 Leader of the House of Representatives from a list 29 provided by the Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate 30 Units. 20070H0460R3010 - 5 -
1 (vi) Three elected school board directors appointed 2 jointly by the Majority Leader of the Senate and the 3 Majority Leader of the House of Representatives from a 4 list provided by the Pennsylvania School Boards 5 Association, one from an urban school district, one from 6 a suburban school district and one from a rural school 7 district. 8 (vii) A representative of Pennsylvania's charter 9 school community appointed jointly by the Majority Leader 10 of the Senate and the Majority Leader of the House of 11 Representatives from a list provided by the Pennsylvania 12 Coalition of Charter Schools. 13 (viii) Three parents of students enrolled in a 14 Pennsylvania public school appointed jointly by the 15 Majority Leader of the Senate and the Majority Leader of 16 the House of Representatives from a list provided by the 17 Pennsylvania Parent Teacher Association, one of whom 18 shall be the parent of a special needs student. 19 (ix) Four representatives of this Commonwealth's 20 business community, one of each whom shall be appointed 21 by the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader 22 of the Senate, the Majority Leader of the House of 23 Representatives and the Minority Leader of the House of 24 Representatives. 25 (x) Four representatives from this Commonwealth's 26 education community appointed by the Governor, two of 27 whom shall be representatives of a Statewide education or 28 child advocacy organization and two of whom shall be 29 representatives of a teacher preparation institution of 30 higher education located in this Commonwealth. 20070H0460R3010 - 6 -
1 To the extent possible, appointments shall reflect the various 2 geographic regions of this Commonwealth. Notification of 3 appointments to the commission shall be furnished to the 4 President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House 5 of Representatives by the appointing body no later than 30 days 6 after adoption of this resolution by both chambers AND THAT <-- 7 APPOINTMENTS BE MADE BY THE GOVERNOR, THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE 8 OF THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NO 9 LATER THAN 45 DAYS AFTER ADOPTION OF THIS RESOLUTION BY BOTH 10 CHAMBERS; and be it further 11 RESOLVED, That the commission have the following powers and 12 duties: 13 (1) To review the findings and recommendations from the 14 Statewide costing-out study conducted by the State Board of 15 Education pursuant to section 2599.3 of the Public School 16 Code of 1949. 17 (2) To examine national trends in educational funding, 18 including foundation programs, percentage equalization and 19 guaranteed yield programs and their potential relevance for 20 Pennsylvania. 21 (3) To review methods that attempt to link adequate and <-- 22 equitable funding to a system of accountability such as 23 value-added assessment systems. 24 (3) TO REVIEW SYSTEMS THAT ASSIST IN DETERMINING STUDENT <-- 25 ACHIEVEMENT SUCH AS A VALUE-ADDED ASSESSMENT SYSTEM. 26 (4) To examine Federal mandates, including the 27 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the No Child 28 Left Behind Act of 2001 and their impact on Pennsylvania's 29 public schools. 30 (5) To examine State regulations, standards and 20070H0460R3010 - 7 -
1 guidelines that implement Federal and State laws and their 2 impact on Pennsylvania's public schools. 3 (6) To study demographic patterns within this 4 Commonwealth in order to determine the impact of both growth 5 and decline in student enrollments on school districts' 6 operations and costs, and the positive and negative aspects 7 of school consolidation as a means to affect cost 8 efficiencies. 9 (7) To examine the efficacy of consolidating existing 10 funding programs used to disperse State education funds and 11 to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of targeted 12 categorical funding. 13 (8) To review potential local cost control mechanisms <-- 14 that may become necessary, should the commission's 15 recommendations lead to the State's assuming greater funding 16 responsibility. 17 (8) TO REVIEW THE FINDINGS OF THE TASK FORCE ON SCHOOL <-- 18 COST REDUCTION NOVEMBER 2007 REPORT TO THE GOVERNOR AND 19 GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND INCORPORATE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THAT 20 REPORT IN THE COMMISSION'S REPORTS AS APPROPRIATE. 21 (9) To examine opportunities for improved cooperation 22 and consolidation among districts to: 23 (i) improve the efficiency and effectiveness of 24 school districts' operations in order to achieve savings; 25 and 26 (ii) enhance student achievement. 27 (10) TO EXAMINE STATEWIDE TRENDS IN THE STUDENT <-- 28 POPULATION IN PENNSYLVANIA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS INCLUDING 29 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES, STUDENTS LIVING IN POVERTY AND 30 STUDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND THEIR IMPACT ON 20070H0460R3010 - 8 -
1 COSTS TO PENNSYLVANIA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE
2 STUDENTS MEETING STATE ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND THE NO CHILD
3 LEFT BEHIND ACT OF 2001;
4 and be it further
5 RESOLVED, That the commission develop, at a minimum, two
6 formulae for the adequate and equitable distribution of State
7 funds for the support of public schools in this Commonwealth and
8 other recommendations based upon its study; and be it further
9 RESOLVED, That the commission hold public hearings to receive
10 public comment and testimony on proposed funding formulae and
11 other recommendations of the commission; and be it further
12 RESOLVED, That the commission hold its first meeting no later
13 than 60 30 days following the appointment of members; and be it <--
14 further
15 RESOLVED, That the commission have the authority to adopt, by
16 majority vote of its membership, rules of operation and conduct;
17 and be it further
18 RESOLVED, That the commission hold meetings at the call of
19 the chairperson and may hold hearings, take testimony and make
20 its investigations at such places as it deems necessary in this
21 Commonwealth; and be it further
22 RESOLVED, That all meetings and public hearings of the
23 commission be considered public meetings for the purpose of 65
24 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7; and be it further
25 RESOLVED, That the commission members receive no compensation
26 for their services, but shall be reimbursed for all necessary
27 travel and other reasonable expenses incurred in connection with
28 the performance of their duties as members; and be it further
29 RESOLVED, That the commission be authorized to hire or
30 contract for such services as it deems necessary and that all
20070H0460R3010 - 9 -
1 expenses approved by the President pro tempore of the Senate and 2 the Speaker of the House of Representatives and incurred or 3 authorized by the commission shall be paid equally from accounts 4 under the control of the Chief Clerk of the Senate and the Chief 5 Clerk of the House of Representatives; and be it further 6 RESOLVED, That the Senate and the House of Representatives 7 provide administrative support, office space and any other 8 assistance required by the commission to carry out its duties; 9 and be it further 10 RESOLVED, That, whenever possible, the commission utilize the 11 services and expertise of existing personnel and staff of the 12 General Assembly in the performance of its duties; and be it 13 further 14 RESOLVED, That the commission make a report of its findings <-- 15 and recommendations to the Governor, the President pro tempore 16 of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives no 17 later than one year from the first meeting date of the 18 commission; and be it further 19 RESOLVED, THAT THE COMMISSION MAKE AN INTERIM REPORT NO LATER <-- 20 THAN 180 CALENDAR DAYS FROM THE FIRST MEETING DATE OF THE 21 COMMISSION AND A FINAL REPORT NO LATER THAN ONE YEAR FROM THE 22 FIRST MEETING DATE OF THE COMMISSION OF ITS FINDINGS AND 23 RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GOVERNOR, THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF 24 THE SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES; AND 25 BE IT FURTHER 26 RESOLVED, That upon receipt of the final report of the 27 commission, the General Assembly promptly review and consider 28 the recommendations of the commission and develop legislation 29 based on the commission's recommendations for consideration as 30 it deems appropriate. J15L82BIL/20070H0460R3010 - 10 -