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Education Finance (K-12)
Information Resources
| Property Tax Relief
Research & Reports
| Current Pennsylvania Legislation
INFORMATION RESOURCES
The Education Policy and Leadership Center
Criteria for Evaluating Education Funding Proposals/Budgets
Pennsylvania Department of Education
K-12 Finances Homepage
2006-07 Enacted Education Budget
School Finance 101
U.S. Department of Education
Education Budget Office
ESEA Title I LEA Allocations - FY 2006
Grants & Contracts
SchoolMatters (Standard & Poor's)
Homepage
Issues PA
School Finance
National Conference of State Legislatures
National Center on Education Finance
Searchable Education Finance Database
Education Commission of the States
Finance Issues Homepage
National Center for Education Statistics
Education Finance Statistics Center
Public School District Finance Peer Search
The Campaign for Educational Equity
Homepage
ACCESS
Center for Reinventing Public Education
School Finance Redesign Project
American Education Finance Association
AERA Homepage
Consortium for Policy Research in Education
CPRE School Finance Homepage
Committee for Education Funding
CEF Homepage
Center for Special Education Finance
CSFE Homepage
Maryland
Commission on Education Finance, Equity, and Excellence
Good Schools Pennsylvania
Homepage
Pennsylvania School Reform Network
PSRN Homepage
Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools
PARSS Homepage
Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators
PASA
Property Tax Relief
[Top]
The Taxpayer Relief Act,
Special Session Act 1 of 2006, was signed into law by Pennsylvania
Governor Ed Rendell on June 27, 2006.
The legislation was developed during a Special Session of the Legislature called
by Governor Rendell in September 2005 to address Property Tax Relief.
Special Session Act 1:
- Uses anticipated gaming revenue to reduce local property taxes for
homeowners beginning in 2008, or later, depending on the availability of gaming
funds. (
Legislation authorizing racetrack gaming in Pennsylvania was enacted in July 2004);
- Borrows revenue from the State Lottery Fund to provide tax relief for senior
citizens beginning in 2007 (to be repaid to the Lottery Fund when gaming revenue is available);
- Expands the number of senior citizens eligible for the state's property tax/rent rebate program by increasing income eligibility from $15,000 to $35,000 (excluding half of social security income), and increases the maximum rebate award from $500 to $650;
- Allows voters to approve a local tax shift to further reduce school district property taxes by increasing local income taxes (not to exceed 1 percent). Local tax shift referenda will be held during the municipal election of 2007 in each school district except Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scranton (special provisions are made for these three districts that already have local wage taxes above 2 percent). In the future, districts may choose to shift property taxes further to a local earned or personal income tax by holding a voter referendum in 2009;
- Imposes a back-end referendum on future school tax increases that exceed an inflationary index (with 10 exceptions for certain costs such as special education, health care and pension obligations).
- Requires school boards to form local tax study commissions of five, seven or
nine members of the public to study the district's current tax structure and make
a non-binding recommendation on the imposition of a local EIT or PIT to provide
property tax relief.
- Establishes a Task Force on School Cost Reduction, appointed by the Governor
and legislative caucus leaders in the House and Senate, to make recommendations
on how to reduce current and future school district costs.
- Repeals
Act 72 of 2004, The Homeowner Tax Relief Act, which was signed into law by
Governor Rendell on July 5, 2004.
The following links provide information about Act 1 of 2006:
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Special Session Act 1 of 2006 General Information
Information for School Districts
Act 1 Index
Office of Governor Ed Rendell
PA Property Tax Relief
Pennsylvania Senate Republican Caucus
Summary of Act 1 (Special Session House Bill 39)
Mandatory Minimum 50% Homestead Exemption
Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program Expansion & Simplification
Property Tax/Rent Rebate Expansion Estimates by County
Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucus
Special Session Report
Summary of Act 1 (Special Session House Bill 39)
District-by-District Tax Relief Breakdown
Pennsylvania School Boards Association
Act 1 of 2006 Information Page
Act 1 Timeline
Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials
Special Session Act 1 of 2006 General Information
Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators
Property Tax Relief/Referendum Information Page
IssuesPA
Property Taxes Issue Page
Special Session on Property Tax Relief
The Evolution of Act 1 of 2006
(legislative activity tracked in the EPLC Education Notebook)
Establishment of Special Session on Property Tax Relief (Sept. 2005)
Opening of Special Session (Sept. 2005)
House & Senate Activity (Week of Oct. 21, 2005)
Senate Committee on Legislation Hearing (Week of Oct. 28, 2005)
House & Senate Activity (Week of Nov. 4, 2005)
House & Senate Activity (Week of Nov. 18, 2005)
House & Senate Activity (Week of Nov. 23, 2005)
House Activity (Week of Dec. 9, 2005)
House & Senate Activity (Week of Dec. 16, 2005)
House Activity (Week of Dec. 22, 2005)
Senate Committee on Legislation Hearing (Week of Jan. 9, 2006)
House & Senate Activity (Week of Jan. 27, 2006)
Senate Activity (Week of Feb. 13, 2006)
House Activity (Week of Feb. 16, 2006)
Appointment of Conference Committee (March 2006)
Conference Committee Organizational Meeting (April 2006)
Conference Committee Meetings (Week of Apr. 10, 2006)
Conference Committee Meetings (Week of Apr. 14, 2006)
Senate adoption of Conference Committee Report (May 2, 2006)
House Activity (Week of June 2, 2006)
House adoption of Conference Committee Report (June 14, 2006)
Signing of Act 1 by Governor Ed Rendell (June 27, 2006)
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RESEARCH
& REPORTS [Top]
Pennsylvania Reports
| National Reports
Pennsylvania Reports
Summary of the Financial and Academic Status of the Duquesne
City School District NEW!
Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, January 2008
Costing Out the Resources Needed to Meet Pennsylvania's Public
Education Goals NEW!
Presented to the PA State Board of Education by Augenblick,
Palaich and Associates, Inc., December 2007
Driving More Dollars Into the Classroom NEW!
A repot to the Governor and General Assembly by the Task Force on School Cost Reduction, November 2007
Study of the Cost-Effectiveness of Consolidating
Pennsylvania's School Districts
Volume I
Volume II NEW!
Prepared by Standard and Poor's for the Legislative Budget and
Finance Committee, June 2007
Interim Report: A Costing Out Study Prepared for the Pennsylvania State Board of Education NEW!
Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, Inc., May 2007
Potential Costs and Impacts of HB 130 (Early Retirement Incentives) and
HB 131 (Cost-of-Living Increases)
Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, April 2006
Identifying and Meeting the Economic Challenges Facing the
Allentown School District
Prepared by Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, Inc. for
Education 2010!, March 2006
Invest Now or Pay More Later: Early Childhood Education Promises
Savings to Pennsylvania School Districts
Pennsylvania Department of Education, March 2006
The Cost Savings to Special Education from Pre-Schooling in
Pennsylvania
Research conducted by Dr. Clive Belfield, Assistant Professor of Economics,
Queens College, City University of New York, for the Pennsylvania
Department of Education, October 2005
Shortchanging Our Children: Opportunity Gaps in Pennsylvania
Public Schools
Education Law Center - Pennsylvania, July 2005
Criteria for Evaluating Education Funding Proposals
An Education Policy Brief from The Education Policy and
Leadership Center, June 2005
Limiting Learning: How Caps on School Funding Erode the Quality
of Education
Keystone Research Center, May 2004
Plan for Pennsylvania's Future: An Economic Analysis Final
Report
An analysis conducted by Fishkind & Associates, Inc. for the
Pennsylvania House Republican Policy Committee, May 2004
The Funding and Benefit Structure of the Pennsylvania
Statewide Retirement Systems: A Report with Recommendations
Pennsylvania Joint State Government Commission, February 2004
Dollars and Sense: Unfunded Mandates and Pennsylvania's Public
Schools
Pennsylvania School Boards Association, February 2003
Referendum Policy Paper
Pennsylvania School Boards Association, February 2003
What's Wrong with School Funding and Tax Reform?
Pennsylvania School Boards Association, September 2002
Approaches Used in Other States to Provide School Property Tax
Relief and Possible Options for Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Legislative Budget and Finance Committee, July
2002
Status Report on Education in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2002
Reports on the Status of Public Education
Published by Good Schools Pennsylvania. These publications report
on the status of public education in various Pennsylvania
counties.
Special Education in Pennsylvania
Alliance for School Aid Partnership, March 2001
Relief from Mandates
Pennsylvania School Boards Association, March 1997
Pennsylvania's Nonpublic Transportation Mandate
Pennsylvania School Boards Association, July 1996
National Reports
Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education: School Year 2005-06 (Fiscal Year 2006) NEW!
National Center for Education Statistics, April 2008
Title I Funds - Who's Gaining and Who's Losing: School Year
2007-08 Update NEW!
Center on Education Policy, August 2007
Revenues and Expenditures by Public School Districts: School Year 2004-05 NEW!
National Center for Education Statistics, July 2007
Public Education Finances: 2005 NEW!
U.S. Census Bureau, April 2007
Funding Gaps 2006
The Education Trust, December 2006
Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Staff,
Schools, School Districts, Revenues, and Expenditures: School
Year 2004-05 and Fiscal Year 2004
National Center for Education Statistics, November 2006
A Policy Maker's Guide to the "65% Solution" Proposals
By Gerald W. Bracey, Published by the Education Policy Studies
Laboratory at Arizona State University, April 2006
Litigation and Education Reform: The History and The Promise of the Education Adequacy Movement
The Campaign for Educational Equity, March 2006
The Social Costs of Inadequate Education
The Campaign for Educational Equity, October 2005
The Issues and Implications of the "65 Percent Solution"
Standard & Poor's, Fall 2005
State Funding Issues for Small and Isolated Schools and
Districts
Education Commission of the States, September 2005
Addressing Funding Inequities Within Districts
Center on Reinventing Public Education, August 2005
Strengthening Title I To Help High-Poverty Schools: How Title
I Funds Fit Into District Allocation Patterns
Center on Reinventing Public Education, August 2005
Developments in School Finance: 2004
National Center for Education Statistics, July 2005
10 Facts About K-12 Education Funding
U.S. Department of Education, June 2005
District Fiscal Practices and Their Effect on School Spending
Center on Reinventing Public Education, February 2005
Quality Counts 2005: No Small Change: Targeting Money Toward
Student Performance
Education Week, January 2005
Data File: Longitudinal School District Fiscal-Nonfiscal File,
Fiscal Years 1990 to 2000
National Center for Education Statistics, November 2004
International School Finance
Education Commission of the States, November 2004
Federal Support for Education: Fiscal Years 1980 to 2003
National Center for Education Statistics, August 2004
Understanding Student-based Budgeting as a Means to Greater
School Resource Equity
Center on Reinventing Public Education,
July 2004
Investing in Learning: School Funding Policies to Foster High
Performance
Research and Policy Committee for the Committee for Economic
Development, 2004
Quality Counts 2004: "Count Me In: Special Education In an Era
of Standards"
Education Week and the Pew Charitable Trusts, 2004
How Within-District Spending Inequities Help Some Schools
to Fail
Center on Reinventing Public Education, May 2003
21st Century School Finance: How is the Context Changing?
By Janet Hansen, Education Commission of the States, July 2001
Constructing New Finance Models that Balance Equity, Adequacy
and Efficiency with Responsiveness
By James Guthrie, Education Commission of the States, July 2001
Public School Finance Programs of the United States and
Canada: 1998-99
American Education Finance Association
Redesigning
School Finance: Moving the Money to the School
By Allan R. Odden, codirector of the Finance Center, Consortium
for Policy Research in Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Issue brief available from the North Central Regional Educational
Laboratory.
What are We Spending on Special Education Services in the United
States, 1999-2000?
Special Education Expenditure Project
CURRENT
PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATION [Top]
House Bills
Current Property Tax Legislation
| Archived Legislation
House Bills
House Bill 71 (Rep. Richard Grucela)
Requires municipalities to provide monthly notice to school
districts of residential development plans approved during the
previous month.
House Bill 72 (Rep. Richard Grucela)
Authorizes school boards to levy an impact fee on the construction
of new residential developments.
House Bill 107 (Rep. Jess Stairs)
Increase the state reimbursement for school breakfast and
school lunch programs.
House Bill 109 (Rep. Jess Stairs)
Creates a state reimbursement for school districts and vocational-technical schools that provide adult agriculture education programs to support program teachers and supervisors.
Current Property Tax Legislation
Senate Bill 209 (Sen. Patrick Browne)
Pennsylvania School Property Tax Freeze Act
House Bill 15 (Rep. Michael O'Brien)
Senior Citizens Property Tax Increase Freeze Act
House Bill 16 (Rep. Michael O'Brien)
Property Tax Increase Limitation Act
House Bill 102 (Rep. Dick Hess)
Senior Tax Reduction Incentive Volunteer Exchange Program Act
Archived Legislation
Click here
to review K-12 Education Finance related legislation
introduced during the 2005-2006 Legislation Session.
Click here
to review K-12 Education Finance related legislation
introduced during the 2003-2004 Legislation Session.
Click here
to review K-12 Education Finance related legislation
introduced during the 2001-2002 Legislation Session.
Click here
to return to the Education Policy Information Clearinghouse
homepage.
Click here
to return to The Education Policy and Leadership Center
homepage.
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