House. Basic Education Funding Commission
Dates
- Existence: 2014 - 2015
Biography
The Basic Education Funding Commission recommended on June 18, 2015 that the General Assembly adopt a new formula for distributing state funding for basic education to Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts.
The 15-member group, created through Act 51 of 2014 (sponsored as House Bill 1738 by Representative Bernie O’Neill), held 15 hearings over 11 months and heard from more than 110 individuals including superintendents, school board presidents, business leaders, nonprofit organizations and parents before making their recommendations.
The Commission determined that allocation of basic education funding needs to allow for accountability, transparency and predictability. The main objective of the new funding formula is to fairly distribute state resources according to various student and school district factors. The new formula takes into account relative wealth, local tax effort, geographic price differences, enrollment levels, local support as well as other factors.
While the Basic Education Funding Commission came to a unanimous conclusion on the formula needed to provide a fair distribution of state education dollars, the recommendations of the Commission will not go into effect without legislation approved by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor.
This commission met 2014-2015.