HARRISBURG (AP) – A partisan dispute about funding for three of PA’s state-related universities may mean higher tuition for in-state students as a budget impasse continues further into the summer. The state government reached two weeks without full spending authority. Funding for Penn State, Pitt, and Temple is in limbo. The three universities receive state subsidies. Gov. Josh Shapiro and his Democrat allies have supported raising state aid to the three schools by 7% to $623 million, collectively. Republicans repeatedly rejected efforts to approve the aid in recent weeks, saying that the schools are too willing to raise tuition and they would prefer to send money to students, not the institutions. The dispute over approving a final spending plan shows no signs of ending quickly. PA Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman sent a letter to his counterpart in the House about the amount of work that still needs to be done, placing the onus on the Democrat-controlled House to do so.
