Morning Call By Marc Levy Of The Associated Press

HARRISBURG — In theory, Pennsylvania school districts whose communities are similar economically are supposed to receive about the same amount of money per student from the state. But, with politics muscling in on how public school aid was distributed in the last two decades, officials have long complained about gaping disparities in public school aid.

Some communities now get half as much per-student aid as those with similar economic circumstances. On Thursday, a panel of lawmakers and top advisers to Gov. Tom Wolf is to recommend a way to close the gap, an effort that comes as Wolf is seeking the biggest one-year boost in public school aid in the state’s history. An Associated Press review of state data shows per-student funding differences can be great. For example, take Purchase Line School District in Indiana County and Curwensville Area School District in Clearfield County. Deemed by the state to have nearly identical wealth, the relatively small districts are neighbors and are similar in enrollment. But Purchase Line is getting about $8,700 per student, based on the latest average enrollment figures available, while Curwensville gets about $6,500 per student, about one-third less. Or take Northampton Area School District in Northampton County and Wilson School District in Berks County. About 30 miles apart and nearly identical in average enrollment and wealth, Northampton Area gets about $2,300 per student, while Wilson gets barely half that.

“It makes no sense,” said Arnold Hillman, a former superintendent and a founder of the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools. “It hasn’t made sense in years.” The disparities, which go back 25 years, are under the microscope as the state tries to confront them.

http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/mc-pa-public-school-funding-20150617-story.html