Pennsylvania lawmakers continue to debate education funding as budget negotiations continue

Pennsylvania's government is reaching a second week without full spending authority. Lawmakers have not decided on an official state budget as education funding continues to be debated.

The state government is approaching a second week without full spending authority, with the final OK on a $45 billion spending plan stymied over a dispute about creating a $100 million program to allocate state subsidies for students in the lowest performing districts to attend private or religious schools.

Complicating matters is the judge's ruling, which ordered the Legislature and governor to fix the system but with no guidance about how — or how quickly — it should be done.

The budget still in limbo includes about $800 million for public education, significantly less than what Democrats wanted. The state’s poorest districts will split $100 million through a program designed to help them close some of the gap between them and more affluent districts.