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Letter to the Editor: State Sen. John Yudichak has been ally in correcting Ashley’s environmental concerns

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Letter to the Editor: Response to Trump campaign’s use of six-pointed star exposes liberals’ paranoia

<p>According to data released Tuesday by the state Department of Education, Luzerne County&#8217;s 11 school districts will get a combined total of $6.5 million more than last year in basic and special education state money.</p><p>While Democratic Governor Tom Wolf and the Republican-controlled legislature managed the peculiar &#8212; and risky &#8212; trick of passing a budget without initially passing the underlying legislation to fund it, they also managed to give public schools a big boost in revenue.</p><p>It&#8217;s a sharp contrast to the 2015-16 budgeting season, when the two sides fought a stalemate for nearly 10 months, forcing many districts statewide to borrow money to keep doors open while waiting for state cash.</p><p>The state doles out the dollars in three categories: Basic Education Funding (BEF), Special Education Funding (SEF), and &#8220;Ready to Learn Block Grants.&#8221; BEF is by far the biggest piece of the pie.</p><p>According to the data, Wilkes-Barre Area &#8212; which has been facing serious financial struggles that prompted suspension of four programs for 2016-17 &#8212; netted the biggest gain by percentage in BEF, rising by 6.9 percent for an additional $1.7 million.</p><p>Brian Costello, who has been tabbed to replace Superintendent Bernard Prevuznak when he retires Aug. 31, said the district had budgeted about half that increase when it passed a final budget June 28.</p><p>He added that, despite the extra money, the district would &#8220;continue to look for efficiencies&#8221; and savings as it follows a school board-approved &#8220;pathway to the future&#8221; that calls for up to $11 million in cuts in the next four years.</p><p>Hazleton Area gets the second biggest BEF boost, a 5.2 percent or about $1.8 million, while Hanover Area gets 4.4 percent or an additional $317,838. Overall, Luzerne County districts are seeing a total increase of 4.2 percent.</p><p>While the dollar amounts are much smaller for special education, Wyoming Valley West had the biggest gain in SEF, 3.72 percent or $114,429. Wilkes-Barre area will get an increase of 3.68 percent, or 158,506.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">FOR WEB</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_state-ed-mony-7-13-16.jpg</photo0><caption0>FOR WEB</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

State budget should mean $6.5 million more for local school districts