Stalemate’s cost to Pa. schools: $11 million and rising

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

For more than a dozen school districts in Pennsylvania, the state budget impasse already has a cost: $11 million in interest payments just to stay open.

State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced the debtors’ names Tuesday as part of his mission to deliver regular updates on how schools are faring as Harrisburg’s gridlock stretches on. DePasquale said his office has already heard from more than half of the state’s 500 school districts.

"One school district official told us that dipping into the district’s reserves and taking out loans to deal with the lack of the state’s subsidy payments is ‘like we’re essentially being forced to borrow our own money,’" said DePasquale during a press conference in the Capitol Rotunda.

According to state auditors, 16 school districts and two regional intermediate units have reported taking out loans for $10 million or less. The Philadelphia City School District has borrowed $275 million.

Read the rest of this story at NewsWorks