Growing Pennsylvanias Economy By Investing in Education

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Growing Pennsylvanias Economy By Investing in
Education
February 4, 2009
Edward G. Rendell, Governor
Dr. Gerald L. Zahorchak, Secretary of Education
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Pennsylvanias economic recovery depends on
education

• Pennsylvania is facing a 2.3 billion budget
  shortfall
• 19 states slashing k-12
• 26 states reducing public higher ed support
• Pennsylvanias recovery strategy depends on
  continuing to invest in education
• every high school student graduates ready for
  success
• every family can afford to send their child to
  college

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and success in the global economy demands it

• 70 of jobs in next 10 years will require
  postsecondary education/training
• Unemployment rate for PA residents with no
  college degree is 4 times higher than college
  graduates
• HS graduate earns 37 more in a lifetime than a
  HS dropout
• PA college graduate earns twice as much in a
  lifetime as HS graduate
• Those with a postsecondary degree will earn 3 to
  4 times more in a lifetime than a high school
  dropout 

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Pennsylvanias plan has 3 parts

• Increase investments in Pre-k-12 to ensure all
  students in all communities have the resources to
  learn and graduate with a diploma that means they
  are ready for college or career
• It is urgent to provide tuition relief to
  Pennsylvania families
• Enact common-sense government reforms to save
  taxpayers money and improve public education

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Increase investments in Pre-k-12 to ensure all
students in all communities have the resources to
learn and graduate with a diploma that means they
are ready for college or career.
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Pennsylvania is moving in the right direction
with 30 more students on grade level than in 2002
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Pennsylvanias public schools face two challenges

• 30 of students are still below grade level and
  inadequate resources limit the ability of schools
  and students to make the gains we need
• 68 of students below grade level attend schools
  where the adequacy gap is at least 2,000 per
  pupil
• Too many students graduate from high school
  without the skills to succeed in college and the
  workforce

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The 2009-10 budget grows our investment in
student achievement

• 8.6 million increase in Pre-K Counts to bring
  the total number of young children served to
  12,850
• 300 million to make the 2nd year investment in
  helping all school districts reach adequate
  resources through Pennsylvanias new school
  funding formula

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Early childhood education is the foundation of
academic success

• Pennsylvania moved from 1 of 9 states failing to
  invest in pre-k before 2003 to a national leader
  today
• But 2 in 3 young children still lack access to
  high-quality pre-school
• The 2009-10 budget will enable school districts
  and quality community providers to serve 1,050
  more children

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Adequate funding is critical to student success

• Districts with the largest funding gaps average
  78 more students below grade level than
  districts with adequate resources

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The 2009-10 budget continues Pennsylvanias
historic funding formula

• Last year, the Legislature enacted a school
  funding formula to move all school districts
  towards adequate funding levels
• The 2009-10 budget provides 300 million for the
  second year of phasing in Pennsylvanias funding
  formula
• The school funding formula is fully maintained
  and carried forward for its second year
• Reducing the adequacy target based on the cost of
  living in certain counties has been eliminated in
  the proposed budget at the request of school
  districts

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Students must leave high school ready for global
success
America is losing ground because its educational
outcomes have mostly stagnated while those in
other countries have surged. Benchmarking for
Success Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a
World-Class Education, NGA/CCSSO/Achieve 2008

• International test scores for American students
  have remained flat since late 1990s other
  countries continue to improve
• PA trails 26 other states in the percentage of
  students passing AP exams
• Only 56 of PA graduates proficient on PSSA
• 1 in 3 PA high school graduates enrolled in a
  state university or community college needs to
  pay for make-up courses for material they should
  have learned in high school

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Average PISA math scores of 15-year-olds by
country
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Pennsylvania must continue strengthening its high
schools

• 22 million to expand the successful Classrooms
  for the Future program
• 10 million to sustain Dual Enrollment programs
  that will allow high school students to take
  25,000 college level courses next year
• 5 million to accelerate the creation of a model
  state curriculum
• 8.6 million to give teachers tools to identify
  and help struggling students
• 9.8 million to create high quality standard
  final exams that districts can use in place of
  existing final exams

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It is urgent to provide tuition relief to
Pennsylvania families
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The 2009-10 budget will help make college
affordable

• Sustain our commitment to supporting higher
  education institutions
• Provide 20,000 more students with grants
• Ensure every family can afford college

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PA will sustain a commitment to state-related and
private institutions

• Funding for state-related universities
  maintained at post-budgetary reserve levels
• State-related universities receive capital
  allocation of 90 million
• Significant ongoing funding for private
  institutions

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Public colleges and universities will receive
additional support

• State System of Higher Education
• Appropriation maintained at current funding level
• Capital funds doubled65 million increase
• Pennsylvanias Community Colleges
• 5 million increase in appropriation
• 2 million increase in capital funds

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PHEAA grant cuts are restored and grants are
expanded

• 35 million increase to PHEAA will avoid cuts to
  the grants upon which 11,500 private,
  state-related and public college students depend
• 10 million increase in grant aid to cover an
  additional 10,000 community college students

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Pennsylvania families need help to send
their kids to college

• The recession has caused double-digit losses in
  families college savings
• It is harder than ever for students and parents
  to get loans to pay for college
• Pennsylvanias long-term economic outlook depends
  on a well-educated, highly skilled workforce

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Three out of four public university students
leave school with debt averaging more than 19,000
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One in three community college students leaves
school owing an average of more than 7,000
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Provide tuition relief to make college affordable
for Pennsylvania families
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Pennsylvanias Tuition Relief Fund

• New grant program for state university system and
  community college students
• All will pay somethingbut only what they can
  afford
• Eliminates reliance on student loans and private
  bank loans
• All first-time students with annual family
  incomes of 100,000 or less will be eligible in
  Fall 2009
• Program will expand to include new students each
  year
• In four years, all students enrolled at state
  universities and community colleges who qualify
  will be eligible

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Families will pay what they can afford

• For families that currently receive PHEAA grants

• Families earning up to 100,000 a year will
  receive a grant for half the cost of tuition
  (2,700)

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Tens of thousands of students will benefit

• Approximately 175,000 students at the
  Pennsylvania System of Higher Education and
  community colleges will be eligible
• Starting this fall, enrollments will increase by
  20,000 students as those who otherwise would not
  have had the chance to attend college, or who
  would have attended college elsewhere, will do so
  in Pennsylvania

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Pennsylvania can make college affordable without
a tax increase

• Video poker in bars, taverns and private clubs
  will enable the state to pay for tuition relief
• The program will cost about 130 million in fall
  of 2009 and increase to more than a half-billion
  dollars in tuition relief in four years
• The crisis demands action the sooner the law is
  passed, the sooner students and their families
  can benefit

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Enact common-sense government reforms to save
taxpayers money and improve public education
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State government is making tough decisions in
tough times

• The PDE budget includes 205 million in cuts and
  the elimination of 20 programs
• The state and school districts have to be
  accountable for every taxpayer dollar and invest
  them wisely to increase student achievement

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Pennsylvania can increase efficiency and drive
more money into classrooms

• The budget proposes a legislative commission to
  determine the optimal school district size and
  consolidate districts to achieve that goal
• School employee health benefits should be
  purchased through a single statewide system to
  save millions of dollars while preserving quality
  health care

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Real school choice high quality options for all
public school students

• Overhaul persistently failing schools
• Replicate the practices of high performing
  charter schools
• Drive public dollars into the classroom
• New subsidy dollars spent on proven practices
• Restore public confidence that charter schools
  are spending taxpayer dollars on instruction

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A recovery through educational investments

• Education is crucial to building our economy
• Our ongoing investments in pre-k-12 can ensure
  every child is successful
• Accessible and affordable higher education is
  essential to building a world-class workforce
• Pennsylvania taxpayers deserve accountability
  and efficiency for their investments

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Investing in education matters

• For individuals
• Increased lifetime salary
• Improved health
• Longer life
• For society
• Lower criminal justice costs
• Lower healthcare costs
• Increased economic growth
• Fewer remedial costs

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The mission of the Pennsylvania Department of
Education is to lead and serve the educational
community, to enable each individual to grow into
an inspired, productive, fulfilled lifelong
learner.