Is Your School Hoarding Cash?
42% of Pa. Districts Hold Questionable Reserves
$4.3 Billion Reserve Funds Questioned As Property Taxes Rise
June 16, 2016, HARRISBURG, Pa.—The $200 million rise in school district reserve funds in 2014-15 has raised questions from fiscal watchdogs and elected officials alike. 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?
Auditor General Eugene Pasquale recently told PennLive, "Certainly anything that is above 20 percent, clearly that's where you start to question it."
Find out how large your school districts reserve fund is in this searchable, sortable online database of Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts.
Incredibly, 210 of the state’s 500 school districts—42 percent—exceeded the 20 percent threshold in the 2014-15 school year. Twenty-one districts have socked away more than 50 percent of their total spending in reserves. At the same time, property taxes rose both in aggregate and in percentage across the state.
“No one is saying school districts shouldn’t save for a rainy day,” commented James Paul, senior policy analyst for the Commonwealth Foundation. “However, there is a point at which burgeoning reserve funds should be questioned, especially when calls for boosting school funding and raising property taxes continue.”
|
10 Largest Fund Balances |
||
|---|---|---|
|
District |
County |
% |
|
Southern Fulton |
Fulton |
84.93% |
|
Northwestern |
Erie |
78.07% |
|
Union |
Clarion |
76.26% |
|
Brockway Area |
Jefferson |
75.64% |
|
Salisbury-Elk Lick |
Somerset |
73.26% |
|
West Jefferson Hills |
Allegheny |
71.67% |
|
Commodore Perry |
Mercer |
70.94% |
|
Forbes Road |
Fulton |
65.60% |
|
Iroquois |
Erie |
63.70% |
|
Central Cambria |
Cambria |
60.61% |
|
Source: Pa. Department of Education |
||
“Time will tell whether Gov. Wolf’s decision to withhold funds from schools during the recent state budget impasse impacted these reserves,” continued Paul. “But one thing is clear: Many school districts are holding excessive reserves while taking more from the families they serve. School boards and other officials have a responsibility to reevaluate how reserve funds are administered.”
Click here for more analysis of 2014-15 school district spending data.
James Paul and other Commonwealth Foundation experts are available for comment. Please contact Gina Diorio at 862-703-6670 or gld@commonwealthfoundation.org to schedule an interview.
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The Commonwealth Foundation transforms free-market ideas into public policies so all Pennsylvanians can flourish.
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