The budget impasse in Pennsylvania that has been going on since the summer has forced school districts and day cares to go without the state funding they normally rely on to operate.
With the impasse now on Day 134, the financial strain is now beginning to reach a breaking point.
At the Somerset Academy Early Learning Center in Philadelphia, they’ve lost $80,000 per month in state funding, which has caused them to take out a loan and now wonder if they will be able to make payroll.
Four months NBC10 spoke to the day care about how the impasse will effect their operations, and now we have returned to see how they are holding up.
“You know that saying, ‘You rob Peter to pay Paul?’ It’s real,” said Tiffany Chavous, who works at the day care.
Chavous said that like a household tightening its budget, they have swapped out essentials for cheaper option.
“Paper towels, toilet paper, soap, we went a different route because it was cheaper getting it from the grocery store,” Chavous said. “And do whatever we could to make ends meet. Make it stretch a little bit versus going to the provider that comes in on every two weeks because we didn’t want to keep that bill going not knowing when we would be able to pay it.”
The academy has also put off hiring and delayed teacher raises due to the impasse.
“The faces of staff, it’s heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking,” Chavous said.
Like some school districts across Pennsylvania, Chavous said the academy has also taken out a loan that charges interest.
“We’re making it, it’s just very difficult,” she said.
However, Chavous said the academy could not hold up financially for much longer, with how they will pay for payroll later this month up in the air.
“We’re at our end at that end time, we need this budget to pass, we need it to pass,” she said. “We’re at a payroll this Friday, and we’re gonna make it this Friday. I don’t’ know how we’re going to do it next payroll.”
Earlier this month, the School District of Borough of Morrisville announced that they could be forced to shutter all of the district’s public schools and stop all operations due to the ongoing budget impasse and the federal government shutdown, which appears to be on the verge of ending this week.
Pennsylvania’s budget impasse for fiscal year 2025-26 is being blamed on state lawmakers being unable to reach a SEPTA funding deal.
The state House and Senate were both in Harrisburg on Tuesday night, and NBC10’s Lauren Mayk reported there were some signs that a deal could be reached soon.
Chavous said she had a message for Pennsylvania state lawmakers, who still get paid amid the impasse.
“You guys go, and you guys get checks, and you still get paid, despite not having a budget,” she said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it would be so emotional.”
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