Education
Property Taxpayer Referendum
Good afternoon. I am Nathan Benefield, Director of Policy Research for the Commonwealth Foundation. We are a nonprofit, independent public policy research and educational institute based in Harrisburg. I would…
Testimony
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School Taxpayer Referendum & Property Tax Relief
Gov. Tom Corbett's FY 2011-12 budget proposal includes $63.6 billion in total operating spending—$27.3 billion in General Fund spending—a reduction of $3.3 billion from FY 2010-11. This budget restores overall…
Fact Sheet
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Pennsylvania State & Local Taxpayer Debt
Gov. Tom Corbett's FY 2011-12 budget proposal includes $63.6 billion in total operating spending—$27.3 billion in General Fund spending—a reduction of $3.3 billion from FY 2010-11. This budget restores overall…
Fact Sheet
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Do School Districts have to Raise Property Taxes?
Following Gov. Corbett’s budget, school district officials and the tax-and-spend lobby have cried that cuts to state education spending will force schools to increase property taxes. Yet this ignores several…
Media
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Understanding the Pennsylvania State Budget
Pennsylvania's total state operating budget for FY 2010-11 is approximately $65.4 billion-or $5,193 for every man, woman and child in the commonwealth. This policy brief looks at the entire state…
Fact Sheet
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Why PA State Debt is “So Low”?
Yesterday, during his mid-year budget briefing, Gov. Rendell repeated his claims that Pennsylvania state debt is pretty low, less than $1,000 per resident, and much lower (relative to state GDP)…
Media
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Auditor General Hits the Wrong Target
Here is a note I sent to Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner regarding his call for a moratorium on new charter schools until the funding mechanism is “fixed”:…
Media
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Cyber School Rewarded for Its Effectiveness
Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has renewed the charter for the state’s first cyber charter school to offer all grades K-12. CEO Dr. Nick Trombetta acknowledged this accomplishment:…
Media
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Pennsylvania Education Spending
Pennsylvania's education spending increased from $4 billion in 1980 to over $25 billion in 2009-a 133% increase in per-pupil spending, after adjusting for inflation. School construction and debt spending has…
Fact Sheet
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