| Dear Neighbor, I hope you are well! I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on several happenings in the district as well as Harrisburg.
As always, I hope you find this informative and useful.
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| Governor Shapiro’s Budget Address
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| Yesterday, Governor Shapiro delivered his 2024/25 Budget Address in front of a joint session of the House and Senate. His proposal outlines a bold new plan for the future of our Commonwealth with an emphasis on education and economic development, healthcare and senior support, agriculture and life sciences, manufacturing, robotics and technology.
His budget would invest an additional $1.1 billion for basic and special education statewide so that Pennsylvania can take our first steps to responsibly fund education, as directed by the House Majority Report from the Basic Education Funding Commission (BEFC). Also included are reforms to Pennsylvania’s cyber charter school laws, leveling the playing field and putting money back into our school districts. With these reforms and the state investments, school districts in the 150th Legislative district would see an increase of $17 million for the 2024/25 fiscal year:
Methacton School District: $730,385 increase
Norristown Area School District: $14,386,831 increase
Perkiomen Valley School District: $1,187,967 increase
Spring-Ford Area School District: $1,286,274 increase
With this format, no school district would receive cuts to their state funding. And furthermore, these educational investments would not be the only dollars allocated for education. $300 million would be allocated to a school facility grant program so that our schools can address asbestos, lead, mold, and other safety hazards so that our students can learn in safer school buildings.
Overall, this budget includes investments across all sectors of Pennsylvania and outlines a plan of how we can accomplish this without raising taxes and still hold a surplus at the end of June 2025.
In less than two weeks, budget hearings will commence in Harrisburg. As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will keep you updated on the discussions and where you can watch them live. If you ever have questions about the budget, please call my office at (484) 200-8263.
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