By RODNEY L. SHERMAN
Clarion News Editor
The Pennsylvania Department of Education is telling Keystone School District it will receive a $54,377 increase in state funding for the upcoming school year, but district Superintendent Shawn Algoe “isn’t holding his breath.”
Algoe told school members on July 18 the state Legislature approved a spending plan for the new fiscal year that began July 1, and the governor allowed the budget to become law without his signature.
The budget includes the additional money for Keystone above last year’s funding level.
Keystone administrators developed a budget for the upcoming year with a zero increase in state funding. The district’s budget had to be submitted to the state Department of Education by June 30, before the district knew what its level of state funding would be.
Algoe said the approved state budget increases the district’s basic education funding by $41,777 and its special education funding by $12,600.
Algoe said the state is already $1.5 billion in debt before the new fiscal year is a month old.
“I could see a real crisis in state finances this year,” Algoe said. “We may or may not get that additional funding. I’m not holding my breath.
“It was a wise decision to plan for no additional funding.”