Centre County schools are getting millions in state funds. Here’s how they’re spending it

Pennsylvania passed a state budget in early July that included a $1.8 billion increase in education, with districts across the state receiving hundreds of thousands in additional funding.

The $4.52 billion plan was signed into effect by Governor Tom Wolf on July 8, which included $525 million in basic education spending and $225 million for the state’s most underfunded districts.

Centre County’s representatives were supportive of the education investments. State Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Rush Township, who serves on the finance committee, tweeted out his support for increased education funding.

“My colleagues and I fought for serious investments to help our kids and taxpayers during budget negotiations, and were able to deliver these funding increases for public schools in HD77 and Centre County,” he wrote.

“Such substantial increases in state support for public school students should allow for full student support while mitigating any need for increases in school district property taxes,” Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, said in a statement.

State Rep. Rich Irvin, R-Spruce Creek, said in a statement that the budget included “record increases for education that include funding for mental health and school safety.”

Centre County school districts all passed their 2022-23 budgets earlier this summer, so the money will not have an impact on programming or tax increases for the upcoming year. But the extra funds could help districts meet their deficit, preventing taxes from being raised in the future.

State College Area School District, which received an increase of $1,560,884 from the state budget, plans to put the money into its capital funds account, essentially a school district’s savings account.

Randy Brown, finance and operations officer for SCASD, and Donna Watson, assistant business administrator, submitted a letter to the board’s finance committee detailing how the money could be used.

“This increased subsidy could be used in future years to offset fund balance deficiencies which are currently projected, or fund mental health and other support services currently funded with ESSER monies set to be depleted at the end of this fiscal year,” Brown and Watson wrote.

Bellefonte Area School District plans to use its $503,008 additional funds for future building projects, including the elementary school project, Ken Bean, director of fiscal affairs for BASD, said.

“We’re taking some of the excess money and putting it aside for future projects and/or future repairs for existing buildings,” Bean said. “So that way it’s going to get used in lieu of having to raise taxes or cut something else in the future for any type of repairs needed done.”

Penns Valley Area School District has not made set plans on what the additional $555,533 will be used for, but a portion will be used to offset the district’s deficit. Superintendent Brian Griffith said the funds appear to be recurring, meaning schools can institute long-term projects or programs without worrying about losing those funds.

“We anticipate that that funding would continue, which allows us to then make programming decisions because it’s not a one time grant money that’s going to go away,” Griffith said. “We can assume that, if it’s existing this year it is probably going to exist in the future. So that’s a big positive for Pennsylvania.”

Changes to the Pennsylvania School Code were also signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf, meaning some districts may have to provide additional safety trainings. Bean said this could increase costs for the district, which could also be supplemented by the additional funds.

Bald Eagle Area School District received $582,307 in additional funding while Philipsburg-Osceola School District received $643,849.

Overall, the additional funds will help relieve some of the financial strain Centre County districts face and help programming and facility maintenance.

“I want to say that it’s a welcomed increase, something that we did not anticipate and something that we appreciate,” Griffith said.