Doing more with less is a reality for local school districts, but one state organization sys the lack of adequate state funding for rural school district Pennsylvania is showing itself in lower scores on standardized tests.

Some children’s advocates are saying the bill introduced in Congress as a replacement for the Affordable Care Act would be bad for kids in Pennsylvania. The American Health Care Act would put a cap per person on Medicaid spending, and set a maximum amount available for individuals based on factors like age or disability.

The American Health Care Act proposed by Congress that would restructure Medicaid as a per capita cap program would sever the historical federal-state partnership of program funding, creating barriers for the 1.2 million children in Pennsylvania who rely on Medicaid for health care coverage and put the state’s fiscal viability in deeper peril than it already is. The state’s budget deficit is currently $3 billion.

Gov. Wolf’s proposed 2017-18 state budget calls for a total of $32.3 billion in state spending that provides for targeted investments to improve the quality of life for Pennsylvania’s children and make Pennsylvania one of the top 10 states to be a child and to raise a child. The plan represents an increase of $571.5 million, or 1.8% over the 2016-17 state fiscal year.