Pennsylvania Senate plans override vote as school loans rise

HARRISBURG — Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is warning that borrowing by Pennsylvania's school districts is on the rise as the state Senate prepares to try to override Gov. Tom Wolf's veto of a short-term spending plan designed to break a four-month budget stalemate.

Wednesday's action in the Capitol comes on the 120th day of a partisan budget stalemate between the first-term Democratic governor and the Legislature's huge Republican majorities.

In the Senate, 33 votes are needed to override Wolf's Sept. 29 veto of the $11 billion Republican spending package that sought to release billions in federal dollars. Republicans hold a 30-19 majority in the chamber.

Meanwhile DePasquale says school districts have borrowed more than $430 million to keep their doors open, a number that he expects to rise quickly in November.