But Republicans who control the Senate say they are pleased there are no new taxes and spending is reduced in most other government agencies and programs.
Senate Republicans, whose primary goal was to rein in state spending, claimed victory last night, having defeated seven tax increases proposed by Gov. Rendell.
"This is a very conservative budget," said Sen. Gibson Armstrong (R., Lancaster), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "I think it restricts spending."
He said while there were noticeable increases in the public welfare (3.5 percent) and education (5.8 percent) budgets, all other spending was reduced by 1.1 percent.
Among the winners: the Philadelphia School District, which will see an increase of $77 million over last year.
House Appropriations Chairman Dwight Evans (D., Phila.) said Philadelphia schools did "extremely well" but hastened to add, so did other school districts.
"There are investments in the key areas of education and economic development across the Commonwealth," he said.
Funding totaling $880 million also was secured for the Pennsylvania Convention Center expansion.
Still to be considered is a separate bill that represents about a 20 percent increase in state funding for highways, bridges and mass transit over the next decade.
The plan relies on borrowing by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission against future revenue from tolls imposed on motorists traveling on Interstate 80.
With new House and Senate rules enacted earlier this year, neither chamber could immediately pass the budget bill, leading to concerns about a deadline to meet the state payroll this week.
State Treasury officials said the budget needed to be completed by noon today to ensure on-time Friday paychecks for thousands of state employees.
"There is a small window beyond the much ballyhooed deadline," said Rendell spokesman, Chuck Ardo.
