New State Budget Brings Free School Breakfast and More for Mountain Districts
Pennsylvania's new $50.8 billion budget adds free school breakfast statewide and more funding for rural districts. Here is what it means on the mountain.
Pennsylvania has a new state budget, and there is a fair amount in it for families on the mountain. On July 12, Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a $50.8 billion spending plan into law with no tax increase. It passed both chambers with only a handful of no votes.
So what actually changes for folks up here? A few things worth knowing.
First, free breakfast for students statewide. Every public school student in Pennsylvania will be able to start the day with a meal, which is real help for working families and one less thing to worry about on a busy morning.
Second, another $565 million in what the state calls adequacy funding, the money aimed at districts that have historically been underfunded. That is the same formula that has been steering extra dollars toward smaller rural schools like ours, part of the state’s response to a 2023 court ruling that found Pennsylvania was funding schools unfairly.
Third, a long-sought pension bump for teachers who retired before 2001. A lot of those retirees are our neighbors, and this one has been a long time coming.
One local note worth flagging: Sen. Pat Stefano, who represents Somerset and Fayette County, was among a small group of Republicans who voted against the education portion of the budget. So on that piece, our own senator was a no.
And what did not make the cut? A couple of things Shapiro had pushed for did not survive negotiations, including a proposed increase in the state minimum wage to $15 an hour and a $1 billion fund for housing, energy, and school construction projects. Recreational cannabis and a tax on skill games were also left on the table.
The budget came together about a week and a half after the constitutional deadline, which, after last year’s standoff that dragged into November, counts as a win for on-time government.
Details via the Pennsylvania Capital-Star.