Abby Baggini ’18: With the school year advancing into its sixth month, Governor, Tom Wolf, and his Republican controlled legislature still have yet to resolve the state budget impasse that has left Pennsylvania schools without the funds for textbooks and other much needed school supplies.
While the budget impacts everything from roads, to hospitals, and taxes, one of the most time sensitive aspects is the state textbook funding for both public and independent schools. Across the state, private schools like Episcopal were forced to start the school year without nearly $30 million in state funding.
Despite being a private school in a wealthy district, Episcopal does still receive a sizable amount of money from the state. Every year, the school must report its enrollment numbers so that the state can grant the appropriate payment. While it differs from year to year, the Business Office’s Larry Capuzzi says that the number normally remains somewhere close to $160,000.
Aware that the budget would most likely not be passed in time for the start of the year in September, the Episcopal administration had to figure out a way to cover this missing $160,000. “When you introduce a form of uncertainty in the school’s budget, like this impasse, it does create a little bit of nervousness, but we are fortunate,” explains Dr. Delvin Dinkins, Head of Upper School, “We were able to use our own school money to defray the cost.”
from an outdated version of a history textbook.
Photo Courtesy of Jenna Cooley ’16
In collaboration with department heads and the business office, the administration was able to pay for any necessary textbooks using a contingency fund. The contingency fund is purposely set aside in the school’s budget for emergencies and unexpected expenses like this. “We had some flexibility, and we wanted to make sure everything was covered. The department chairs were notified that anything they absolutely needed would be paid for by the school,” assures Dinkins. Capuzzi adds that they were still sure to use the money carefully, adding, “Our approach was asking: what do we have to have, what would we like to have, and what can wait? We put expenses into those three categories and purchased accordingly.”
Among the expenses were new French, Math, and Science textbooks for the Upper School. Capuzzi says his office ended up reaching out to the textbook companies and asking if they would mind deferring their payment until the state funding came through. Some agreed, but several companies, like the ones from which the French and Math books were purchased, declined. The business office was also hoping that the state might reimburse them for the money spent on orders that could not be deferred. However, when the state finally passed a partial budget to help alleviate some of the financial burdens schools had been carrying all year, they were told this is something that could not be done. All in all, the school so far has spent roughly $35,000 of its own money to cover the cost of these textbooks.
Marc Eripret, World Language Department Chair, is not unfamiliar with the textbook troubles that come along with a budget impasse. He had to deal with a similar situation several years ago. “It is a shame, but until they (politicians) get along, this will happen.” Eripret says his department met in late August to talk about which classes would need new books. Like very other department, they had to pick and choose; French would get a new edition and repurchase the online textbook, while Spanish and Mandarin would continue to use ones from the previous year.
Similar to Dinkins, Eripret was not worried that his department would be left empty handed, and was grateful for the school’s ability to cover the cost. And even if Episcopal had not been able to do so, he had faith that he and his fellow teachers would still be able to hold themselves and their students to Episcopal’s standard. “We did not panic. We are all veteran teachers, we can survive one month and still teach the content without the book. It was just a little bit tricky because we did not know how long it would go on for.” He continues, “Not everybody agrees with me, but I think that if you are a teacher, you should be able adapt and adjust. I could teach without a book. Yes, we wouldn’t have the fancy online exercises, but I could create my own. Fifteen years ago there was no website and kids were still learning good French, good Spanish, and good Chinese. Fifteen years ago what were we doing? If you are good, you are good. I’m convinced.”
Grace Reilly ’19, a French student, agrees with Eripret, saying that students probably wouldn’t have complained or even noticed if they did not have textbooks. “The books help me to study mainly, but what works best for me and what I think is really helpful is when teachers make their own exercises because they go along better with their lesson plan and teaching style anyways.”
Textbooks or no textbooks, it is ultimately up to Governor Wolf and the Legislature to decide whether schools even receive the money in the first place. Dinkins concludes by reemphasizing, “I know that many public schools have struggled with this, so again, we are just very fortunate that the school was able to defray these costs.”