Pennsylvania has had trouble getting the job done with education this year.

Funding for the various levels of schooling needs to be approved by the Legislature. The governor signs off on it. From there, funding flows into cities and boroughs and townships, doing the job of teaching the next generation of doctors, social workers, engineers, educators and more.

The problem is that before something can be approved, it has to be agreed upon — and getting Pennsylvania legislators to agree on just about anything is like finding a winning lottery ticket. Add the governor — any governor — into the mix, and you are talking winning the Powerball and Mega Millions back to back.

This is nothing new. For decades, Pennsylvania has made a habit of missing the deadline to pass a budget, and education money is often a part of the standoff.

And 2023 has been no different. First, there was your basic budget battle that involved a showdown over a controversial voucher program. That had Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro siding with the GOP-controlled Senate and rocking the boat with his own party majority in the House — until he switched course and rankled Republicans.

When that funding was passed in August, it included money for the schools in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, like PennWest and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Then there was a separate fight over paying for public higher education, particularly the state-related universities like Penn State and Pitt. That finally passed Nov. 15 — a mere four and a half months behind schedule.

But another level of postsecondary education is still waiting for its approval: the 15 community colleges, including Westmoreland County Community College, Community College of Allegheny County, Community College of Beaver County and Butler County Community College.

“The delay in state payments may become a net funding cut,” the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges said in a prepared statement.

Statewide, about 230,000 students attend these schools. The combined enrollment of Penn State, Pitt and the 10 member universities of the state system hits about 200,000 students. Those students are the ones who will suffer when the financial delays trickle down.

That’s something state leaders need to consider with their foot-dragging. Lawmakers have been vocal about wanting colleges to keep cost of attending down. That’s admirable given that Pennsylvania tuition is among the most expensive public school costs in the country.

But forcing schools — whether as large as Penn State or as small as a high school-sized community college — into positions in which they need to use lines of credit to keep the lights on doesn’t help students. It hurts them and the taxpayers who work in these schools and the communities they serve.

Lawmakers need to stop using education as a chessboard and the schools as their game pieces. It’s a contest no one wins.

— Pittsburgh Tribune-Review via AP