Dear Editor,

With the lack of funding for projects in the PlanCon pipeline and districts waiting multiple years after project completion with no reimbursement in sight, a debt is owed to the local school district taxpayers who are currently footing the bill for the Pennsylvania Department of Education's obligation to support school construction.House Bill 2124 reforms PlanCon into the Accountability and Reducing Costs in Construction Process. ARC Con streamlines the process, which allows school districts to save time and money in the application process. ARC Con also attempts to save costs by focusing on the rehabilitation of old buildings rather than new construction.Under ARC Con, school districts across the state could receive a lump sum reimbursement payment reducing interest and debt. For example, with PlanCon projects, school districts bond the entire cost of the project and are reimbursed over a 20-year period or the life of the loan. Under ARC Con, a district could, by mutual agreement of the district and PDE, receive their reimbursement in a lump sum according to their aid ratio, reducing the debt to the taxpayer by loaning less money.As of June 12, 2014, there are 304 districts in the PlanCon process 200 at Part G, 31 at Part F, 19 at Part E, 9 at Part D, and 45 at Part A and B. Districts in our area that are among that number are East Stroudsburg, Hazleton, Lehighton, North Schuylkill, Pocono Mountain, Salisbury and Stroudsburg.Many school districts that are either in the early stages of the PlanCon process or have not yet submitted an application will delay projects until there is guarantee that the commonwealth will meet its reimbursement obligations. This is not fair to the education of our students in Pennsylvania.Six school districts (Catasauqua, East Penn, Eastern Lebanon, Lancaster, Reading and Portage) had projects that were given "Part H Approval" several months ago. Those were the first in several years to move to the so-called pipeline to be paid.Approving Rep. Seth Grove's House Bill 2124 this fall in the Senate is a critical step in reforming the 11-step PlanCon process down to a five-step ARC Con process that would also eliminate the requirement to submit paperwork on microfilm in favor of electronic submission. Additionally, Rep. Grove's proposal ensures that school construction records are made available on an electronic database via PDE's website. Finally, transparency for the taxpayer!Rocky AhnerLehighton