Highways, prisons and schools: Here’s what’s in Shapiro’s budget for Centre County
Gov. Josh Shapiro pitched a $53.3 billion state budget proposal to the Pennsylvania Legislature Tuesday that called for a $15 minimum wage, legalized marijuana and increased funding for underserved school districts.
The unbalanced budget would represent a 5.3% spending increase from last year, and would fund new projects in Centre County.
The proposal, which comes in at 777 pages, is highly unlikely to be passed as written. Shapiro, a Democrat running for reelection, needs Republican votes to get his budget through the Senate, and leaders there have warned new taxes would be needed to fund it in the future. Bread-and-butter line items, such as funding for walking paths in a state park, have in the past been approved without issue.
Here’s what’s in the state budget proposal for Centre County.
Flat funding for Penn State
Shapiro’s budget calls for $242.1 million to be allocated to Penn State for general support, marking the third consecutive year he has proposed this amount. Penn State has received $242.1 toward its general fund each year since 2020.
Shapiro’s 2023-24 budget called for an additional $17 million for the university. The proposal failed and has been absent from subsequent budget proposals.
More money for underserved school districts
The budget proposes $565 million be put toward underfunded school districts through an “adequacy gap” formula established in 2024. The commonwealth has already spent more than $1 billion to close the gap.
The formula last year favored area school districts like Penns Valley and Tyrone, whose adequacy payments comprised 6% of state allocations last year. Adequacy funds were closer to a rounding error in well-resourced school districts like Bald Eagle and State College.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education estimated each of Centre County’s school districts would receive between 0.2% and 1.2% more money from the commonwealth over the current fiscal year if the budget were adopted as is.
More money for Centre County highways
The governor’s budget also proposes $32.8 million from the Motor License Fund — filled by the commonwealth’s gas tax, license and registration fees and other sources — be put toward highway and bridge construction in Centre County, up from $1.9 million proposed for this fiscal year.
This comes as a major highway interchange project connecting Interstate 80 and Interstate 99 is underway.
It is unclear how much will eventually be allocated to Centre County this fiscal year.
Juiced funding for Centre’s last state prison
Benner Township’s state prison would receive $42.4 million for building, infrastructure and site improvements if Shapiro’s budget were passed as written, representing an 86% increase over last year’s $22.8 million allocation.
An additional $10 million is included this year for the construction of a concrete plant at Benner.
The budget proposal also includes $10 million for the Rockview state prison, which is winding down operations after the Shapiro administration announced its closure last year.
New projects in Centre County
Shapiro’s budget calls for $5 million for dam rehabilitation at Mira Lloyd Dock Conservation Center in Spring Mills. In September, the center advertised a $6.5 million project that “includes the breach and removal of an approximately 12-acre existing irrigation pond,” among other things.
Another $6.9 million is proposed for lake dredging at Poe Valley State Park, and $952,000 is proposed for gravel road rehabilitation in Bald Eagle State Forest.
Howard Nursery could see $1.2 million of game revenue to construct a new office building and wood shop. Centre County state game lands near Runville and the ghost town of Scotia were budgeted $500,000 and $750,000, respectively, for road construction and shooting range upgrades.
