Pennsylvania Relies Heavily on Local Taxes to Fund Education

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July 30, 2009

Pennsylvania funds a smaller share of public education at the state level than all but four other states, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In the 2006-07 fiscal year, Pennsylvania funded an average of 35.5% of public education costs in the Commonwealth, while 57% of the costs were borne by local taxpayers and 7.5% was provided by the federal government. Only Nebraska, South Dakota, Illinois and North Dakota fund a smaller percentage of public education at the state level.

Nationally, states supply an average 47.6% of education funding, while local sources cover 44.1%, according to the Census data.

In recent years, Pennsylvania has consistently ranked among the bottom five or six states in terms of state share of public education.

State Share of K-12 Education Funding

 

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

PA

       36.7%

       35.9%

       35.6%

       35.0%

       35.5%

PA Rank

45

46

46

46

46

US Average

       49.0%

       47.1%

       47.0%

       46.6%

       47.6%

Source. US Census Bureau

Because Pennsylvania relies more on local property taxes to fund schools than most other states, there are wide disparities in local education funding and high taxes in some areas.