Pennsylvania’s state budget is more than a month overdue and the General Assembly’s failure to do one of its most basic duties is going to start hurting residents.

As we learned in the Thursday, Aug. 7, edition of the Butler Eagle, Freeport Area School District would have received more than $2 million from the state already this fiscal year, but that money is nowhere to be found.

District superintendent Ian Magness put the blame squarely where it belongs: on the Legislature.

“Our district has not received, as it would by this time, over $2.5 million. Because the state and these folks in Harrisburg are, frankly, falling short of their obligation to provide our kids an appropriate, free public education, and we don’t have any word now as we start school in two weeks,” Magness said.

And more pain is in the immediate future if lawmakers continue to fail to do their jobs.

As Magness told the Freeport school board on Wednesday, it’s not clear where the money to pay for free breakfast for students will come from, as that money was provided by the state in years past.

In fact, nearly $17 million of the district’s $39.7 million budget comes from the state.

The lack of a budget is even preventing federal money from coming to the district, because that money is distributed by the state through the budget.

Lawmakers’ inaction will soon start to cost taxpayers more money. It’s long past time for them to stop playing politics with the essential services the state funds.

— JK