JUNE 29, 2010 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Pennsylvania Education Spending

Pennsylvania's education spending increased from $4 billion in 1980 to over $25 billion in 2009-a 133% increase in per-pupil spending, after adjusting for inflation. School construction and debt spending has doubled in just 10 years.  Prevailing wage laws increase the cost of construction by 20% or more; repealing this mandate would save $400 million.

JUNE 21, 2010 | Commentary by NATHAN BENEFIELD

The True Beneficiaries of Education Subsidies

Gov. Rendell's budget once again demands significant increases in public school spending.  Ostensibly, these increases are "for the children," but a close examination of education spending and policy proposals reveals Gov. Rendell's priority - appeasing education's special interests.

DECEMBER 9, 2009 | Testimony by NATHAN BENEFIELD

Costing-Out the Price of Education

In the last two years, Gov. Rendell has used the "costing-out" study to justify proposed increases in state education subsidies. Yet while costing-out or "adequacy" studies have been conducted in over 35 states to quantify the amount of education funding needed, in no case did spending increases result in dramatic improvement of adequacy standards.

AUGUST 5, 2009 | Commentary

Low Standards De-Value Diplomas

The U.S. dollar isn’t the only piece of paper plagued by inflation.  While the Federal Reserve drives down the value of the greenback, low academic standards in Pennsylvania are decreasing the value of a high school diploma.

JULY 20, 2009 | Commentary by NATHAN BENEFIELD, MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

The Faulty Premise of the Budget Impasse

Governor Rendell wants the taxpayers to spend more on public schools.  So do Republicans in the General Assembly—nearly 12 percent more.  Yet education funding remains a major obstacle in the budget impasse.
 
The governor decries his opponents' proposed level of spending as a “cut” because—though actually an increase—it's below the level identified as “adequate” in a so-called costing-out study commissioned by the General Assembly in 2007.

MARCH 19, 2009 | Commentary by MATTHEW BROUILLETTE

State Can't Spend Its Way to Student Success

For years, the educational establishment has claimed that not enough is being spent on public schools – that if more money is pumped into the system, student achievement will improve.  Unfortunately, too many policymakers have bought into the “more dollars equals more scholars” myth.
 
Last year, Governor Rendell proposed increasing public school funding by $2.6 billion over the next six years in an effort to bring spending to the “necessary” level recommended in the General Assembly's Costing Out Study.

NOVEMBER 4, 2008 | Commentary by FRED BALDWIN

Schools Need Your Vote Every Year

School board members are not up for re-election this year. That’s too bad, for a lot of people will be voting tomorrow. School board elections are held in off-years meaning years when no one is running for president or governor. Incumbent school directors and new candidates alike can wait until 2009 to decide whether to put their names on the ballot.

AUGUST 21, 2008 | Policy Brief by DAVID ANDERSON

A Pennsylvania School Report Card

How the Commonwealth’s Public Schools Stack Up to the Rest of the Nation

Politicians and school officials frequently point to student performance  on state tests as a primary measure of the quality of public education.  According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) “is a standards based criterion-referenced assessment used to measure a student’s attainment of the academic standards while also determining the degree to which school programs enable students to attain proficiency of the standards.”

MARCH 5, 2008 | Commentary by NATHAN BENEFIELD

Determining the Cost of an Adequate Education

The Pennsylvania General Assembly recently commissioned a $650,000 study to determine what it “costs” to educate a child. The firm winning the commission reported that the state should increase spending by more than 27% to an average of $12,058 per-child (with an estimate for each school district). In his budget address, Governor Rendell proposed phasing in a $4 billion increase in education spending over six years to meet this higher level of spending.

JULY 26, 2007 | Policy Report by NATHAN BENEFIELD, ROBERT MARANTO, JASON O'BRIEN

Edifice Complex: Where Has All the Money Gone?

From the 1986-87 to 2005-06 school years, taxpayer spending on Pennsylvania’s government-run K-12 schools increased from $6.6 billion to almost $22 billion—a 72% increase after adjusting for inflation. Between 1996-97 and 2005-2006, Pennsylvania’s public schools added over 43,000 staff—teachers, administrators, and support staff—while enrollment increased by only 26,000. Thus, for every new student, schools added 1.6 staff.