PITTSBURGH – There’s been a lot of anxiety in Pennsylvania in recent years over K-12 public school funding.

A lot of anger was specifically aimed at Gov. Tom Corbett, who was unable to come up with the amount of state money that the education establishment demanded for schools.

Corbett paid for that offense in November, when he was trounced in his bid for a second term. Now the state has an incoming Democratic governor, Tom Wolf, who is presumably more inclined to give the schools everything they want.

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But before Gov.-elect Wolf writes a blank check to the state’s schools, he would be wise to take a peek at their spending habits.

He might discover that the real problem is not a lack of revenue, but how the schools traditionally spend billions of dollars they receive every year.

A major problem is excessive labor spending, mostly due to overly generous labor policies, like paid absence policies.

The Pittsburgh school district is a perfect example.

The district is facing a potential $26 million budget deficit in the fall, a fact that has drawn the attention of the local media.

In the 2013-14 academic year, it spent approximately $13.6 million on salaries for teachers and other employees who were not at work, as well as compensation for unused sick days for those with good attendance.

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That fact has not gotten much media coverage.

The main source of the sick day waste is the collective bargaining agreement between the school district and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers.

Teachers employed for the “normal work year” get 12 days of paid sick leave per year, with “such sick leave to accumulate annually without limit and to be usable annually without limit.” Those who work longer than the normal school year can qualify for up to 15 paid sick days per year.

All full-time professional employees are also entitled to two personal leave days per year. Part-time employees get one.

Even full-time substitute teachers, who are necessary due to polices that invite absenteeism, get six paid sick days and one personal day per year.

In 2013-14, Pittsburgh teachers and other employees took a combined 30,886 sick days and 3,584 personal days. With 5,180 employees, that averages out to 6.6 paid days off per employee.

Employees were paid a combined $11.6 million for sick and personal days.

Retirees covered by the teacher union contract may receive payment for one half of their unused sick and personal days when they depart. Those who resign are allowed to cash in a third of their unused days.

In 2013-14, the district paid slightly more than $2 million in severance to departing teachers. District officials did not report how much was spent for substitute teachers.

Several smaller districts in the same geographic area, with similar labor agreements, have similar issues.

In 2013-14, the North Allegheny district (which a year ago was facing a $7.3 million deficit) paid out $1.6 million in salary to employees for days they were absent and $1.3 million for unused sick day compensation. The district did not report substitute costs.

The Fox Chapel Area district, which recently imposed a property tax increase on residents, paid out $1.3 million in salary specifically to absent teachers and $273,257 in compensation for unused sick days. The district also coughed up $446,790 in substitute teacher fees.