Pennsylvania’s lack of a budget is continuing to place the state and programs it funds in dire situations.
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According to the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA), court action was taken against the commonwealth on Thursday, since they have yet to disburse subsidies to school districts that were due weeks ago. The application filed this week asks the court to direct relief to the school districts immediately, rather than have them wait until an underlying lawsuit, which was filed in January, is fully tried.
“We regret that it has come to this, but it is the right thing to do for our members,” said PSBA Executive Director Nathan Mains. “We are hearing from too many districts that without state funding, they are seriously contemplating closing schools, if not this academic year, certainly in the fall. Schools need immediate relief now from this man-made problem. The ramifications of no budget and schools shutting down is extremely serious for the stability of Pennsylvania.”
The PSBA filed their underlying lawsuit two months ago, which states that the commonwealth, by withholding funds, is violating the state constitution, the federal constitution, and the Fourteenth Amendment. That lawsuit even asks the court to award damages to the districts, in an effort to compensate them for all interest and expenses incurred as a result of them borrowing nearly $1 billion collectively since the start of the budget impasse.
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In Thursday’s application the PSBA asked the court to order that all future payments to the school districts are made on a timely basis at levels no less than those paid during the 2014-2015 school year.
