As lawmakers and Gov. Wolf seek to restructure state government this budget season, they should commit to refocusing education spending to provide the greatest opportunity to Pennsylvania students.

A Montgomery County judge recently ruled that Lower Merion School District misled taxpayers by stashing huge cash reserves while repeatedly hiking taxes on township residents. Could 8 other Pennsylvania school districts be doing the same thing?

As the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court hears a challenge to the state’s school funding formula today, at issue is the power of the judiciary as well as the truth about Pennsylvania’s education funding.

School district reserves total $4.3 billion statewide. When cries for more school funding—and property tax increases—are constant, how much is too much to hold in reserve?

Contradicting the claim that Pennsylvania underfunds its school system, public school spending hit an all-time high in the 2014-15 school year, approaching $27.4 billion—or $15,854 per student—according to the latest state Department of Education data.

Pennsylvania school districts spent approximately $27.4 billion in 2014-15. This represents a $1.3 billion increase from 2013-14, despite a 12,000 student decrease in average daily membership.

Governor Wolf claimed the 2015-16 budget could not be balanced without significant tax hikes. But there are two ways exist to close a budget deficit: raise revenue or cut spending. Lawmakers closed the projected budget deficit by spending less—$3.8 billion less.

Pennsylvania’s FY 2015-16 budget was finalized in late March when Gov. Tom Wolf allowed HB 1801, a supplemental funding bill, to become law. This legislation appropriated an additional $3.1 billion for K-12 education—on top of nearly $8 billion that was signed into law in December 2015.

After keeping Pennsylvania in budget gridlock for 267 days while holding out for record-high tax increases, Gov. Wolf announced today that he will allow a no-tax-hike budget to become law.

Nearly one week after the legislature voted to send Governor Wolf a $30 billion state budget with record-high basic education funding, Wolf continues to dangle a veto threat while pushing schools closer to closure.