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1 _________________________________________________________________ 
EPLC EDUCATION NOTEBOOK
 
Friday, September 11, 2009
Content in this edition:
Pennsylvania State BudgetPennsylvania School Funding CampaignResearch and ReportsEPLC NewsDatebook
 The EPLC Education Notebook (current and past editions) also is available by visiting the EPLC website atwww.eplc.org/ednotebook.html.
PENNSYLVANIA STATE BUDGET 
This morning (Friday), Senate Republicans and Democrats and House Democrats announced their three caucuses have agreed to a budget framework to settle the state budget impasse. The HouseRepublican leader has been quick to denounce the agreement as spending too much. Governor Rendell has criticized the agreement for proposed cuts to education, Pre-K counts, the Children
!
sHealth Insurance Program, and more. Rendell also is questioning the revenue assumptions.Leaders of the three caucuses in agreement said they would have staff working on budget detailsand documents over the weekend and anticipated the Budget Conference Committee would meetearly Monday. All said positive things about the importance of education funding and severalspecifically mentioned Governor Rendell
!
s insistence on at least a $300 million increase for basiceducation subsidy as a major consideration. They predicted a vote in the House and Senate latenext week.The framework includes:
•
Total spending of $27.945 billion.
•
No broad-based tax increases.
•
$300 million increase for basic education subsidy.
•
Unspecified cuts to education items (apparently including Accountability Block Grants andmore).
•
Use of the entire $755 million Rainy Day Fund for 2009-2010.
•
Adding table games at currently authorized casinos.
•
Increasing the limits and taxing small games of chance.
•
Delaying the phase-out of the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax.Here is the budget press release issued from Senate Republicans today:http://www.pasenategop.com/news/archived/2009/0909/budget-091109.htmHouse Democratsissued their own release with the same content.
EPLC WILL PROVIDE SPECIAL REPORTS AS MORE DETAILS OF THE AGREEMENTBECOME KNOWN.
In other budget-related action:
 
The Education Policy and Leadership Center
800 North Third Street, Suite 408, Harrisburg, PA 17102717-260-9900 - www.elc.or
 
2
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The
Senate Appropriations Committee
on Wednesday approved a state budget bill(Senate Bill 1085)
"
introduced by Senate Republicans just this week
"
creating another potential vehicle for moving forward the state budget. The bill is almost identical to the planpreviously introduced by Senate Republicans in Senate Bill 850, which cut $1 billion infunding for education programs. The current content of the bill is largely irrelevant given theapparent budget agreement to which Senate Republicans are a party.
PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL FUNDING CAMPAIGN 
The Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign is withholding analysis and comment about thenewly announced three-caucus budget agreement until more specific details are available.The Campaign continues to remind legislators of the importance of keeping the 6-year plan for school finance reform in Pennsylvania on track. That plan calls for an increase of $418 million for basic education in 2009-2010, the 2
nd
year of the plan.Students across the Commonwealth are making real academic progress, as last week
!
s release of state test scores makes clear. Two other facts are clear from the data released last week.Districts that have received significant state funding increases in recent years have been amongthose making the most progress. And districts furthest from their funding adequacy targets areamong those furthest from their achievement targets as well.The 2009 test scores support continued investments through the basic education funding formula.School districts meeting their funding adequacy targets had 81 percent of students tested ongrade level, compared with 74 percent in districts with average funding adequacy gaps and only55 percent in districts with the largest funding adequacy gaps (40 percent or more).For more information on the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign, please visitwww.paschoolfunding.org.
RESEARCH AND REPORTS 
The
National Center for Education Statistics
recently released data on the revenues andexpenditures of public school districts for the 2006-2007 school year (Fiscal Year 2007). Learn morein its report at:http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009338 
EPLC NEWS 
EPLC on Facebook 
To receive additional and more frequent updates on other education policy news, become a fan of The Education Policy and Leadership Center! Find us on Facebook athttp://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Education-Policy-and-Leadership-Center/97780163891?ref=mf .
Education Policy Fellowship Program
The Pennsylvania Education Policy Fellowship Program, sponsored by EPLC, kicked-off its 2009-2010 sessions with a two-day retreat in Harrisburg this week with a new class of thirty-three fellows.This is the 11
th
year for the Fellowship Program, affiliated with the Washington-D.C.-based Institutefor Educational Leadership and a network of more than ten other state programs. Almost 300
of 00

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