PA PUBLIC SCHOOLS SITTING ON $2.75 BILLION IN RAINY DAY FUNDS

According to an article in the Patriot News, Governor Ed Rendell has made increasing investments in public schools his top priority.  But much of that money has wound up in public schools’ rainy day funds.  Since Rendell came to Harrisburg, public schools have amassed $2.75 billion in reserve accounts. That figure has climbed 83 percent from Rendell’s 2003 inauguration to June 30, 2009, according to the most recent data available from the state Department of Education. Click here to read the Patriot News article.

REPORT RANKS PA HIGHWAYS 38TH IN NATION

According to an WITF article, as policy makers in Harrisburg discuss transportation funding a new study from a libertarian think-tank ranks Pennsylvania’s roads near the bottom. The Reason Foundation’s 19th Annual Highway Report, which looks at 11 categories, puts the commonwealth’s roadways at 38th overall. Lead author David Hartgen says they get the lowest marks in the nation when it comes to “narrow rural lanes.” “The state has a relatively high percentage of narrow lanes on the primary system,” he says. “It’s a large system that Pennsylvania has — it’s the fourth-largest

Continue reading Eye Opener – September 7, 2010