New PA House Bill Would Bring $349K More To North Penn Schools

LANSDALE, PA -- Local lawmakers are working to increase education funding for Hatboro-Horsham through legislation at the state level, in opposition to the Governor's amended proposal last week.

State Rep. Todd Stephens was part of a bipartisan majority that recently voted to pass a new Fiscal Code Bill, 149-45, according to the PA House.

"The schools in my district have long been underfunded by the state," Stephens said. "And while I will continue fighting for additional funding, the funding formula we passed, along with the Senate, will at least bring additional dollars to our schools."

Under the new bill, Stephens says that the Hatboro-Horsham School District would receive an additional $141,404, for a total of $4,586,733 in funding.

Other local districts would receive benefits as well: Upper Dublin would receive an increase of $99,942 for a total of $2,709,592; Wissahickon would receive $73,644 more for a total of $2,442,515; and North Penn would receive an increase of $349,165 for a total of $9,368,863.

The new formula was developed by the Basic Education Funding Commission in 2015.

Wolf has previously vetoed the Fiscal Code Bill and announced a new formula which would focus spending on inner city schools.

However, Wolf's formula actually provides more total funding for Hatboro-Horsham, allocating a total of $4.8 million to the district, and North Penn, which would receive a total of $10.1 million.