Bill Text: PA HR739 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a study of efficiency in public school funding and urging the State Board of Education to provide documents and assistance to the Joint State Government Commission in its conduct of this study.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 32-5)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-04-14 - Referred to EDUCATION [HR739 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HR739-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 3524
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 739 Session of2010
INTRODUCED BY KILLION, O'NEILL, ADOLPH, CALTAGIRONE, CAUSER, CLYMER, CUTLER, EVERETT, FAIRCHILD, FARRY, GABLER, GINGRICH, GRELL, GROVE, HARPER, HENNESSEY, HESS, MARSHALL, McILVAINE SMITH, METZGAR, MICOZZIE, MILLARD, MILLER, MILNE, MURPHY, MURT, QUINN, READSHAW, REICHLEY, ROSS, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, TALLMAN, TURZAI, VULAKOVICH AND WATSON, APRIL 14, 2010
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, APRIL 14, 2010
A RESOLUTION
Directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a
study of efficiency in public school funding and urging the
State Board of Education to provide documents and assistance
to the Joint State Government Commission in its conduct of
this study.
WHEREAS, Pursuant to section 2599.3 of the act of March 10,
1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949,
the State Board of Education is directed to conduct a
comprehensive Statewide costing-out study for public education
funding, which duty was added to the Public School Code of 1949
by the act of July 11, 2006 (P.L.1092, No.114); and
WHEREAS, The State Board of Education was conferred the
discretion in section 2599.3 of the Public School Code of 1949
to hire a consultant to perform the study; and
WHEREAS, The State Board of Education contracted with
Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, Inc., (APA) of Denver,
Colorado, to conduct the study; and
WHEREAS, The legislative intent for the study was to examine
issues of adequacy and equity in public school funding and to
determine the basic cost per pupil to provide an education that
will permit a student to meet the Commonwealth's academic
standards and assessments; and
WHEREAS, Section 2599.3 of the Public School Code of 1949
specifically requires the study to examine "exemplary school
districts that are high-performing and low-spending school
districts," but section 2599.3 does not explicitly mandate other
methodologies to be applied in the study; and
WHEREAS, The study conducted by APA subsequently used three
methodologies: a "Successful Schools" approach that was
consistent with the explicit requirements of section 2599.3 of
the Public School Code of 1949, but also two additional
methodologies referred to as "Professional Judgment" panels and
"Evidence-Based" research that were not required under law; and
WHEREAS, The final report issued to the Commonwealth by APA
used a combination of all three of these methodologies to
recommend specific dollar amounts for the basic cost per pupil,
plus additional weights and other modifications that increase
the basic cost per pupil; and
WHEREAS, The final report does not provide any indication as
to how the three methodologies were combined or compared against
one another, nor does it provide any other information detailing
how the specific recommended numbers in its findings were
actually calculated in the study; and
WHEREAS, Both the State Board of Education and APA testified
to the Education Committee of the Senate on December 8, 2009,
that the specific methodology applied to derive the final
funding recommendation cannot be disclosed to the General
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Assembly because APA believes the methodology is proprietary
information; and
WHEREAS, The results of the study call for an additional
target of $4.61 billion annually of taxpayer funds for public
school funding, or a 26.8% increase, but APA testified that it
cannot provide the quantitative numbers used to justify this
target; and
WHEREAS, The "Successful Schools" approach used by APA in the
study was the only methodology that was explicitly authorized in
section 2599.3 of the Public School Code of 1949 because it
focused on high-performing and low-spending school districts;
and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth should focus its attention toward
the most efficient use of the dollars already available for
public schools; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth should build upon the work already
conducted in the original costing-out study by examining the
schools identified in the report under the "Successful Schools"
methodology to learn their best practices and other factors that
have resulted in their identification as a high-performing, low-
spending school district; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the Joint
State Government Commission to conduct a study of the 82 school
districts found to be successful schools in the APA costing-out
study and to issue a report to the chairman of the Education
Committee of their best practices and other factors that are
believed to help contribute to this recognized efficiency and
success; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the State Board of Education be urged to
cooperate fully with the Joint State Government Commission in
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providing documentation from the original costing-out study and
other assistance as the Joint State Government Commission
requests; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the report from the Joint State Government
Commission be submitted to the chairman of the Education
Committee no later than November 1, 2010; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the final report serve as the basis for future
deliberations by the House of Representatives on the
Commonwealth's basic education funding levels and components.
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