As summer looms, school districts across Pennsylvania are working to formulate revenue and spending plans for the 2026-27 fiscal year.

District administrators will untangle the web of district needs versus wants, at the same time ensuring mandated programs and costs are all accounted for. School board members will weigh district priorities against the costs to implement them, all the while trying to strike a delicate balance of providing quality education, activities and services without unduly putting a strain on taxpayer pocketbooks.

Often, the priorities of the board and changing revenue projections will send the administration back to the drawing board, sometimes repeatedly, before a workable plan emerges in time for passage by the June 30 deadline required by law.

That deadline, June 30, also serves as a yearly reminder of one of the most major flaws in the budgeting process in Pennsylvania. Namely: That’s the same deadline the state legislature is constitutionally mandated to pass a state budget.

Leaving aside the General Assembly’s abysmal track record in recent decades when it comes to even passing a state budget on time, the simultaneous deadlines create an inherent issue even if everyone meets the deadline.

On average, public schools in Pennsylvania receive just under 40% of their funding through the state, although the exact percentage varies by district due to a number of factors. For comparison, federal funding in the state averages just over 10% of revenue for districts.

What that means is Pennsylvania school districts are tasked with formulating and passing a final budget, including determining whether passage of a tax increase is necessary to make it all work, without knowing exactly how much funding they’ll actually receive from the state.

Think of it as coming up with a yearlong household budget without any idea how much income you’ll have for just shy of five months, or about 40%, of the year.

It’s a situation that leaves districts scrambling and hoping for the best every single year.

It is also a situation entirely governed by deadlines set in state law. As such, Pennsylvania’s elected officials could find a way to alleviate it.

While fixing the state’s own issues with passing a budget on time should be the General Assembly’s priority, it would be worth it if Harrisburg at least took a look at the deadline mess the state has created for public education finances.

— JP