School voucher conflict stalls Pa. budget approval

With a Pennsylvania budget two weeks past due to Governor Josh Shapiro’s desk, negotiations could change parts of the spending plan for taxpayer dollars.

“I don’t know what it would take for our caucus to vote for some of the things the governor negotiated with us that are in this general appropriate budget,” Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) said in an interview for NBC10 @issue airing Sunday morning. “I can tell you that some of those items are nonstarters.”

The Senate and the House both passed a budget bill, but the Senate is not due back in session until mid-September and has yet to sign the bill -- a formality that has become a more significant stumbling block after the governor announced he will veto money for school vouchers, or PASS scholarships that were a Republican priority.

Shapiro, a Democrat, supported the plan, but House Democrats did not.

“If we can make a major investment on what we owe public schools, we are open to a discussion about options and choices for all families across Pennsylvania,” House Speaker Joanna McClinton said in a separate interview also airing on NBC10 @issue on Sunday.

McClinton said that could include a voucher program. Asked if she was open to changing the spending plan on things such as new programs, she said House Democrats are “open to every conversation.”

In addition to the Senate signing the budget bill, additional legislation is also needed to set out how allocated funds would be spent.

Ward pointed to some specific items to target for changes, including eliminating $100 million in “Level Up” education funding designated for the state’s poorest districts.

Asked about the way forward, Ward said it would be for the governor to “blue line all of those goodies that he put in the budget that were negotiated in exchange for” the school vouchers.

Both McClinton and Ward said talks are underway.

NBC10 @issue airs Sunday at 11:30 am.