Bill Text: PA SR36 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: A Concurrent Resolution creating the Joint Legislative Commission on Public School Finance and providing for its powers and duties.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-03-06 - Referred to EDUCATION [SR36 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SR36-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 624
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 36 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY BROWNE, STACK, WILLIAMS, ALLOWAY, RAFFERTY, ERICKSON, BOSCOLA, MUSTO, MELLOW, ORIE AND FONTANA, MARCH 6, 2009
REFERRED TO EDUCATION, MARCH 6, 2009
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Creating the Joint Legislative Commission on Public School
Finance and providing for its powers and duties.
WHEREAS, Section 14 of Article III of the Constitution of
Pennsylvania clearly gives the General Assembly sole authority
to, "...provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough
and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of
the Commonwealth"; and
WHEREAS, The General Assembly, as part of Act 114 of 2006,
amended the Public School Code of 1949 to direct the State Board
of Education to "...conduct or provide for a comprehensive
Statewide costing-out study to arrive at a determination of the
basic cost per pupil to provide an education that will permit a
student to meet the State's academic standards and assessments",
with a final report to be presented to the General Assembly one
year from the date of the signing of the contract to conduct the
study; and
WHEREAS, According to the National Education Association, in
2004 and 2005 the Commonwealth ranked 14th in expenditure per
student at $9,638 per pupil, well above the national average of
$8,618 and spending in excess of $14 billion total; and
WHEREAS, The Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act places strict provisions for identification and services for
children with special needs, but has been severely underfunded
by Federal funding; and
WHEREAS, Since 2001 and 2002, special education expenditures
by school districts have increased by 28% and expenditures by
the Commonwealth have increased by 9.6%; and
WHEREAS, The Federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 focuses
on accountability, requiring states to close any existing
achievement gaps and assuring that students are proficient in
basic core academic subjects, but is underfunded by the Federal
Government; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth has established academic standards
and Statewide assessments in order to move students toward
defined proficiencies in core academic subjects; and
WHEREAS, Over the past three decades, efforts have been made
throughout the nation to revise state systems for funding public
schools; and
WHEREAS, Both Federal and state courts have increasingly been
asked to review the constitutionality of educational funding
systems that rely on local property taxes on the basis that the
dependence on local property taxes yields constitutionally
impermissable disparities in funding between school districts
that violate equal protection, as well as State constitutional
obligations with regards to education; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth currently ranks 11th in the nation
in the number of individual school districts, and concerns have
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been raised that this large number of administrative units is
not cost effective and that the merging of some districts or
regionalization of services would be more efficient both
economically and educationally; therefore be it
RESOLVED (the House of Representatives concurring), That the
General Assembly establish a Joint Commission on Public School
Finance as a means of analyzing the results of the State Board
of Education's costing-out study and make recommendations on
issues surrounding the Commonwealth's current system of funding
public education with the purpose of identifying what school
districts need to do to improve the chances of students, schools
and the districts themselves to meet the requirements of the
State's accountability system; and be it further
RESOLVED, That specific goals of the commission are to ensure
that:
(1) State funds allocated for basic education funding
are distributed both adequately and equitably;
(2) the allocation of State funding addresses and is
reflective of unique characteristics among districts
including changes in demography;
(3) the allocation of State funding is linked with
measures of accountability; and
(4) school districts remain accountable for meeting
State academic standards and attaining student proficiency;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the commission consist of 45 members appointed
as follows:
(1) A chairperson of the commission, chosen jointly by
the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of
the House of Representatives, who shall be a recognized
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expert in the field of public school finance currently
employed at a Commonwealth institution of higher education.
(2) The chairpersons and minority chairpersons of the
Education Committee of the Senate and the Education Committee
of the House of Representatives, or their designees, who are
members of the respective committee.
(3) The chairpersons and minority chairpersons of the
Appropriations Committee of the Senate and the Education
Committee of the House of Representatives, or their
designees, who are members of the respective committee.
(4) Four additional members of the General Assembly, one
of whom is to be appointed by each of the following: the
Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the
Senate, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives
and the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
(5) The Secretary of Education or his designee, who
shall be a deputy secretary within the Department of
Education.
(6) The Secretary of the Budget or his designee, who
shall be an employee of the Office of the Budget.
(7) The Chairperson of the State Board of Education or
his designee, who shall be a member of the State Board of
Education.
(8) Representatives of the State's basic education
community as follows:
(i) Four classroom teachers, two of whom shall be
nominated by each of the established recognized
organizations representing the Commonwealth's public
school employees.
(ii) A school business manager nominated by the
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Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials.
(iii) Three chief school administrators nominated by
the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators,
one of whom shall be from an urban school district, one
of whom shall be from a suburban school district and one
of whom shall be from a rural school district.
(iv) A vocational-technical school administrator
nominated by the Pennsylvania Association of Vocational
Administrators.
(v) An intermediate unit director nominated by the
Pennsylvania Association of Intermediate Units.
(vi) Three elected school board directors nominated
by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, one of
whom shall be from an urban school district, one of whom
shall be from a suburban school district and one of whom
shall be from a rural school district.
(vii) A representative of the State's charter school
community nominated by the Pennsylvania Charter Schools
Association.
(viii) Two parents of students enrolled in a State
public school nominated by the Pennsylvania Parent
Teacher Association, one of whom shall be the parent of a
special needs student.
(9) Four representatives of the State's business
community, one of whom shall be appointed by each of the
following: the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority
Leader of the Senate, the Majority Leader of the House of
Representatives and the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives.
(10) Four representatives from the State's education
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community appointed by the Governor, two of whom shall be
representatives of Statewide education or a child advocacy
organization and two of whom shall be representatives of
teacher preparation institutions of higher education located
in this Commonwealth;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That, to the extent possible, appointments reflect
the various geographic regions of this Commonwealth, and
notification of appointments to the commission be furnished to
the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives by the nominating body no later than 30
days after adoption of this resolution by both chambers; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That the commission have the following powers and
duties:
(1) To review the findings and recommendations from the
Statewide costing-out study conducted by the State Board of
Education pursuant to section 2599.3 of the Public School
Code.
(2) To examine national trends in educational funding,
including foundation programs, percentage equalization and
guaranteed yield programs and their potential relevance for
the Commonwealth.
(3) To review methods that attempt to link adequate and
equitable funding to system accountability, such as value-
added assessment systems.
(4) To examine Federal mandates, including the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the No Child
Left Behind Act, and their impact on Pennsylvania public
schools.
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(5) To examine State regulations, standards and
guidelines that implement Federal and State laws and their
impact on Pennsylvania's public schools.
(6) To study demographic patterns within this
Commonwealth in order to determine the impact of both growth
and decline in student enrollments on school district
operations and costs and the positive and negative aspects of
school consolidation as a means to affect cost efficiencies.
(7) To examine the efficacy of consolidating existing
funding programs used to disperse State education funds and
to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of targeted
categorical funding.
(8) To review potential local cost control mechanisms
that may become necessary should the commission's
recommendations lead to the State assuming greater funding
responsibility.
(9) To examine opportunities for improved cooperation
and consolidation among the districts to improve the
efficiency and the effectiveness of school district
operations in order to achieve savings;
and be it further
RESOLVED, That the commission develop, at a minimum, two
formulae for the adequate and equitable distribution of State
funds for the support of public schools in this Commonwealth and
other recommendations based upon their study; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the commission hold public hearings to receive
public comment and testimony on the proposed funding formulae
and other recommendations of the commission; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the commission hold its first meeting no later
than 60 days following the appointment of members; and be it
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further
RESOLVED, That the commission have the authority to adopt, by
majority vote of its membership, rules of operation and conduct,
and the commission shall hold meetings at the call of the
chairperson and may hold hearings, take testimony and make its
investigations at such places as it deems necessary in this
Commonwealth, and all meetings and public hearings of the
commission shall be considered public meetings for the purpose
of 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings); and be it
further
RESOLVED, That the commission members receive no compensation
for their services but shall be reimbursed for all necessary
travel and other reasonable expenses incurred in connection with
the performance of their duties as members; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the commission be authorized to hire or
contract for such services as it deems necessary, and that all
expenses approved by the President pro tempore of the Senate and
the Speaker of the House of Representatives incurred or
authorized by the commission shall be paid equally from accounts
under the control of the Chief Clerk of the Senate and the Chief
Clerk of the House of Representatives; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate and the House of Representatives
provide administrative support, office space and any other
assistance required by the commission to carry out its duties
under this resolution, and, whenever possible, the commission
shall utilize the services and expertise of existing personnel
and staff of the General Assembly in the performance of their
duties; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the commission make a report of its findings
and recommendations to the Governor, the President pro tempore
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of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives no
later than one year from the first meeting date of the
commission; and be it further
RESOLVED, That upon receipt of the final report of the
commission, the General Assembly promptly review and consider
the recommendations of the commission and develop legislation
based on the commission's recommendations for consideration as
it deems appropriate.
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