HARRISBURG – Paychecks for state workers will not be issued, because of the month-old budget standoff.  

Today’s scheduled monthly payment of more than $416 million to Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts will not occur due to the lack of a state budget, Education Secretary Gerald L. Zahorchak announced.

The budget was due July 1. 

“Until a budget is in place, the Department of Education cannot legally authorize payments to districts, meaning the districts will have to operate without the state’s share of education dollars until lawmakers approve a spending plan,” the secretary said.

The subsidy payments that were scheduled to go out today would have been the first major payments of the 2009-10 fiscal year, which began on July 1. Most schools will begin the school year within the next three to four weeks.

The next monthly subsidy payment is scheduled for Aug. 27, but the timeliness of that payment also could be impacted by the budget impasse, according to the secretary, because it takes about two weeks to authorize payments after a budget is enacted. The August subsidy payments would total more than $876 million.

The subsidy payments represent the state’s share of public education funding, including appropriations such as basic and special education funding, charter school reimbursement, pupil transportation and the accountability block grant. Districts rely on the monthly payments in determining their annual budgets, as well as payment schedules to district vendors.

Efforts to resolve the budget deadlock apparently remain stalled.  The Republican-controlled Senate and Democrat House have their own versions of the budget, but can’t resolve differences.