Pa.’s $45 billion budget negotiations stall over a $100 million school voucher program

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate approved a $45.5 billion spending plan for Pennsylvania’s 2023-24 fiscal year, but budget talks have stalled over a private school voucher program for students attending the state’s lowest performing schools.

House Democrats, who hold a one-seat majority, said they’d defend public schools and rejected the school voucher bill approved by the GOP-controlled state Senate. Across the state Capitol building, the Senate doubled down on the school voucher program — a top priority for Republican leaders for years — and sent a $45.5 billion spending bill that included $100 million for it.

Lawmakers had not reached a budget deal by Friday night’s deadline, and it’s unclear how long the talks will be stalled as Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro navigates his first budget as the state’s chief executive. He canceled a scheduled appearance in Philadelphia Saturday to address the state teachers’ union to continue budget negotiations, a spokesperson for the governor said.

Both House Democrats and Senate Republicans have already drawn a line in the sand.

If the House sends the Senate an amended spending bill without the school vouchers, the whole agreement between Senate Republicans and Shapiro is “null and void,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R., Westmoreland).

“This budget that we put together was put together with the governor as an agreement, as a whole package,” Ward said. “If they pull out our priorities ... you’re going to see a very slimmed-down, scaled-back budget, because there were things in this budget that we really didn’t want to do.”

For example, the Senate GOP spending plan includes $50 million for the Whole Home Repairs program, which Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman said his caucus “is not entirely supportive of.” The program was created last year using onetime federal COVID-19 relief dollars to help residents fix up and stay in their homes.

“We gave, and we gave at every request with the hopes that it would help enact one of his top legislative priorities: lifeline scholarships, or as it’s known now, the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success,” Pittman added.

But for House Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D., Montgomery), a private school voucher program is dead on arrival in his caucus.

“The voucher issue is over,” Bradford said after the Rules Committee rejected the proposal.

House leaders will take the next few days to review the full spending plan and will likely remove the private school funding.

As a House committee prepared to reject the private school funding proposal, Rep. Martina White (R., Philadelphia) rattled off the number of students from each of the Philadelphia representatives’ districts who attend the state’s lowest-performing schools.

“All of these children in your districts need your help,” White said. “Those who vote against this legislation today are voting against fixing a broken education system.”

It’s unclear how many students could access the funds, and there is no academic achievement requirement for a student once they receive one.

“They’re called ‘success scholarships,’” said Rep. Mike Sturla (D., Lancaster), who has worked on education policy in the state House for more than 30 years. “Is there any proof that they’re successful? If [private schools] made a promise they’d make every student graduate at the top quartile, I’d say, ‘Take my money.’ But if they don’t do it, I want my money back.”

The state Senate adjourned and is not scheduled to return to session until mid-September, unless recalled sooner. A number of omnibus code bills — which outline the policies that control how the state spends and raises its money — have yet to be considered by either chamber.

The House Democrats passed their own spending plan earlier this month, which totaled about $1.3 billion more than the Senate GOP plan passed Friday. Neither spending plan increased taxes.