$14 million in recurring funding granted to Erie School District

On October 25, the Erie School District was granted $14 million in funding from the state Legislature.

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Last school year, the 11,500 student Erie School District was experiencing declining enrollment, forcing reconfiguration due to the excess capacity of nearly 5,000 seats. The projected deficit for the 2017-2018 school year was estimated to be $9.5 million. In April 2017, the Erie School Board approved the recommendation to consolidate Erie Public Schools for the 2017-2018 school year. Three of the four high schools in the district were combined, two elementary schools were closed, and two other high schools were converted into middle schools. According to GoErie.com, “The reconfiguration is estimated to save as much as $6.7 million a year, but the initial savings are likely to be closer to $4 million.” Between the estimated savings and the recent grant for $14 million, the district now has a significant amount of capital to work with.

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To help with recovery from the budget crisis, the plan for the grant is included in an education bill, House Bill 178, which the state Senate approved on October 25. Governor Tom Wolf’s spokesman J.J. Abbott said the governor will “evaluate the entirety of the bill” once it is on his desk. Among other aspects, the bill also requires the Department of Education to provide training for school board members starting before the 2018-2019 school year.

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The need for such a sum of cash has surfaced due to lack of revenue, risings expenses and limited state aid. This combination of issues surrounding the budget forced the district to eliminate its fund balance a few years ago. All the while, the district continues to sit on an $8 million deficit. With the grant, the debt, as well as numerous other problems within the district, may quickly diminish. As the region’s largest public school system, the Erie School District will be able to erase its debt and “stay on path to achieve long-term solvency” district officials said, according to GoErie.com.  Nearly 80 percent of the 11,000 plus students in the district are said to be at an economic disadvantage, bolstering the extent of the situation.

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With money in hand as of October 29, the new challenge for the district is to turn the system around, making it the best it can be provided the given funds. The district plans to develop a strategy for how the $14 million will be used. The hopes are to “eliminate it [the district's] short- and long-term deficits and upgrade its programs, curriculum and buildings,” said Erie School’s Superintendent Brian Polito. “Because the district’s financial problems have been severe for so long, it must use the money to stay solvent rather than to make large-scale expenditures from year to year.”

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The ultimate goal on the table as of now, according to School Board President Frank Petrungar Jr., is “planning out the next five years.” The results of the grant will allow the district to cease worry of the budget and in return enhance the district in ways many thought would never be possible. The $14 million has a chance to produce extraordinary changes to the the region’s largest district, not even a year after the consolidation of schools due to the exact problem which has been solved with the grant.