With each passing day of the Pennsylvania budget impasse, those who depend on funds from the state are getting more desperate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Up until this point, millions of dollars have already gone unpaid to the state’s schools, so how long will it be before your child’s school is impacted?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many have been taking out revenue anticipation loans, and the Pennsylvania State Education Association said a classroom impact is inevitable if there is no resolution.<\/p>\n
While Harrisburg and the Pennsylvania legislature might be 200 miles away, the issue of the budget impasse isn’t abstract.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It’s not going to take very long until it’s not an abstract thing,” said Matt Edgell, Region Advocacy Coordinator with PSEA.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Already, a third of the year’s payments to the schools have been missed, leading schools to scramble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“If it’s not impacting them yet, it’s going to impact them,” Edgell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The PSEA is Pennsylvania’s largest teachers’ union, and they said that in some schools, the situation is already critical. Edgell said that in Butler County, vocational education basically has “zero days of money left.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The state’s 29 intermediate units, which facilitate unified support among public schools and specialized education programs, are living on revenue anticipation loans.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Right now, just the [intermediate units], the 29 IUs, owe over $40 million in interest, that’s coming from the taxpayers, as well,” Edgell said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Edgell said that layoffs and even canceled classes could occur as early as after Thanksgiving. He’s also worried some teachers may be asked to teach without pay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Is it out of the realm of possibility? Absolutely not,” he said. “It’s not outside of the realm of possibility that we could have a lockout because a district just doesn’t have money. If schools can’t keep the lights on, could we have schools closing? Absolutely. We could have schools closing sooner than you think. We could have schools closing by January.”<\/p>\n
Edgell said the first to be impacted will be those with the least means – meaning less affluent districts who are more dependent on state money.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In our area, Pittsburgh Public Schools has not received $95 million that it got last year, and has instituted a hiring freeze, purchasing freeze, travel freeze, and overtime freeze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We reached out to Pennsylvania State Senate President Kim Ward for comment and did not hear back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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