Senate Education Committee Chairman Sen. Jeff Piccola, R-Harrisburg (32 years in the Legislature), says: "This is an argument going on for decades. Democrats want more than Republicans, but everybody wants more and every year it goes up."
When Democrat Rendell rails against GOP "cuts," he means cuts in a few areas such as early education or teacher development or cuts in his own proposed increases. Whether those areas should be cut is debatable. But any notion of education funding being cut is not.
So, what are they fighting about?
Mostly which pile of tax dollars is used to pay for increases both sides want. This is sorta like a checkout clerk asking if I want to pay with credit or debit. Doesn't matter; it all comes from the same place.
The difference between how Rendell and Republicans want to spend more money is the use of federal stimulus dollars. Rendell wants to use $418 million; Republicans $728 million, and less state money.
(Don't you love how state pols gleefully extol using federal money as if it's free, as if we're saving something, as if no Pennsylvanian pays federal taxes?)
The Rendell administration argues two points against the level of stimulus funds Republicans want.
First, it jeopardizes upcoming federal grants, including $4.35 billion in "Race to the Top" money to be awarded to states competitively. Applications are due this fall, funds early next year.
State Education Department spokesman Mike Race says that the GOP "misuses" federal money and that U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan claims that states doing so might as well "tear up the form" rather than apply for "Race to the Top" funds.
