Sep. 14, 2016
HARRISBURG– Rep. David Parker (R-Monroe) and a delegation of Monroe County taxpayers and school board members attended oral arguments Tuesday in Philadelphia before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. With hundreds of spectators, the court hearing focused on the funding levels and constitutionality of the state's Basic Education Funding (BEF) for its 500 school districts.
Over the past two budget cycles, Parker has emerged as a prominent statewide leader fighting to adopt the new BEF formula and accelerate fair funding through the new BEF formula to severely underfunded school districts and their taxpayers. By far, Monroe County taxpayers pay the highest portion of their personal income to school property taxes in the State, three times the state average.
“I believe we need to be better in the Legislature to get more state funding to the severely underfunded school districts and their students, educators and taxpayers,” Parker said. “Few things are more egregious in Pennsylvania than the severe inequities and hardships specifically imposed through the state's Basic Education Funding formula. Now is the time to permanently fix this 25-year old travesty.”
Parker is leading the creation of bipartisan coalitions to advance and accelerate fair funding across the state.
“This issue will only get fixed through bipartisan efforts bringing together a working-majority of Democrats, Republicans and Independents,” said Parker.
Until the June 2016 adoption of the new BEF formula, state funds were distributed unfairly without regard to common sense variables like student enrollment, poverty, ability to pay, and property values.
Parker, who represents a Monroe County district that has the highest school property taxes and foreclosure rates in the state, says property owners in 150 underfunded school districts continue to be severely punished while property owners in 350 overfunded districts not only remain overfunded but could remain overfunded for another 25 years unless state funding gets accelerated through the new formula.
“It's time to end hold-harmless, and its terrible impacts against students and taxpayers,” Parker said. “The lion’s share of the funding is still distributed under the ‘hold harmless clause that has been responsible for skyrocketing property taxes and devastated property values in my district and elsewhere.”
Representative David Parker
115th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Charles Lardner
717.260.6443
clardner@pahousegop.com
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