Apr. 13, 2016
HARRISBURG – State Reps. Matt Gabler (R-Clearfield/Elk) and Tommy Sankey (Clearfield/Cambria) today joined the majority of their colleagues in the House and Senate in passing legislation that will require use of a more equitable school funding formula rather than Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan that heavily favored the School District of Philadelphia.
House Bill 1589, which also restores construction reimbursement funding schools are owed through PlanCon (the Planning and Construction Workbook), passed each chamber of the General Assembly by a two-thirds majority, thus preventing a veto by the governor.
Gabler and Sankey issued the following statement in reaction to passage of House Bill 1589:
“Passage of House Bill 1589 by a veto-proof majority restores the cuts to local school districts that Gov. Wolf made when he vetoed the previous Fiscal Code bill and replaced it with his funding scheme that would have funneled an inordinate amount of money to the School District of Philadelphia.
“This bill contains a bipartisan formula that is supported across the state and benefits local schools with several hundred thousand dollars of additional funding over the governor’s unlawful proposed distribution.
“The governor applauded the Basic Education Funding Commission commission’s work last year and then chose to ignore it. When he did, he turned his back on the majority of Pennsylvania’s school students in favor of a relative few in the southeast. Today’s two-thirds vote shows how wrong his decision was.”
Representative Matt Gabler
75th District, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RepGabler.com / Facebook.com/RepGabler
Representative Tommy Sankey
73rdDistrict, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
RepSankey.com / Facebook.com/RepSankey
Media Contact: Scott Little
717.260.6137
slittle@pahousegop.com