HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Scranton School District may receive some help with its lead and asbestos problems in the state's 2020 budget.
Governor Tom Wolf rolled out his budget proposal Tuesday morning in Harrisburg, which includes $1 billion to remediate both lead and asbestos in schools across the state.
Schools were a major focus of Governor Wolf's budget address. He highlights his plan to invest money in state education from elementary students to college students, as well as new programs to support working families
Governor Wolf's 2020-2021 budget proposal includes more than $36 billion in state spending when he formally introduced that proposal to the legislature. He focused on school spending, including a $1 billion program to help school districts across the state get rid of lead and asbestos in aging buildings.
"Let's make sure that every parent who sends their kid off on the bus this September can spend less time worrying about mold, lead, and asbestos, and more time looking forward to finding out what their kids have learned when they get home," said Gov. Wolf.
If approved by the legislature, that money could help the Scranton School District deal with its widespread contamination issues, which just this week, forced the district to indefinitely close an intermediate school.
Wolf's budget also includes help for college students seeking scholarships to state universities.
"I'm proposing a historic $200 million investment in scholarships for the young Pennsylvanians attending our state system universities. That will mean 25,000 PASSHE students … can get a degree without crushing debt."
Wolf also proposed:
- raising the state's minimum wage.
- more funding for free all-day kindergarten.
- an additional $435 million in funding for schools, which would include an increase in teacher pay.
- that $1 billion program for lead and asbestos remediation.
Now, the Democratic governor's budget is in the hands of the Republican-controlled legislature, which has to pass a budget this summer.
"so, I have ambitious plans for this year. And I know that the politics of the moment dictate that some of you go out in the hall after this and talk about the parts you think may be too ambitious," the governor added.
When it comes to that education funding, Governor Wolf did not elaborate on how it would be distributed to school districts.
The Scranton School District may have to compete with others in our area and across the state for funds to fix the contamination problem and add more money to their annual budget.