Partial budget good news for schools, but maybe not for long

By PETER JACKSON
HARRISBURG (AP) — The partial budget Gov. Tom Wolf signed last week brought good news for Pennsylvania's 500 school districts and underscored the bad news that the budget standoff will stretch into a seventh month.

The Democratic governor exercised his line-item veto power to erase about one-quarter of the $30 billion in spending approved by the Legislature's GOP majorities. But he approved $23 billion that includes long overdue financial relief for school districts, social service providers and county governments.

Jay Himes, director of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials, says the release of $3.5 billion for basic and special education after six months without state subsidies was very important.

Himes says it helps reduce the level of frustration and skepticism among school officials statewide.