Yogi Berra would be proud.

The late New York Yankees Hall of Fame baseball player has been credited with saying, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

The reference here occurred when he was giving directions to his home. Ultimately, despite the route, you’d get to the same place.

That happened Thursday when the state’s Basic Education Funding Commission set the course for public education in Pennsylvania.

The 15-member panel, which included state Sen. David Argall, was tasked with finding a solution - or at least a compromise - to an inequitable funding program for the state’s schools in the years ahead.

The group, after almost seven months of testimony and deliberation, offered two ways to approach the problem.

The first proposal, Report #1, a Republican backed plan, left the committee deadlocked when Democrats voted against it and three representatives of Gov. Josh Shapiro abstained, making the final vote 6-6-3.

Report #1 would have updated the current funding formula and called for some changes in how the formula determines poverty levels. It called for lawmakers to consider how to support career and technical courses, determine whether to reimburse school districts for cyber charter schools and encourage legislators to explore school choice programs.

The other route, a Democrat supported plan, squeaked by with an 8-7 vote. One Democratic senator jumped ship on the plan, joining Republicans who voted against it.

Report #2 recommends $5.4 billion is needed to ensure schools have enough funding to meet student needs. It estimates that 77% of the state’s school districts spend less on their students than a targeted amount on what they need. That gap would be filled by increases over a seven-year period.

The commission also called for making teacher salaries more competitive, adding funding for student supports, including mental health, and examining how the state can bolster support for access to prekindergarten, career and technical education and funding for libraries.

What’s more is that the panel will be reconvened in five years to make sure the recommended changes are still in effect.

Both sides on Thursday sang the praises of their work.

State Rep. Mike Sturla, D-96, said the report “not only meets our obligation as a commission, but also meets constitutional muster as directed by Commonwealth Court.” The court ruled the state’s funding formula unconstitutional last year and ordered the state to revamp it.

Republicans thought their plan was worthy, too.

“It is disappointing we could not reach consensus with all of the Democrats, but we believe the recommendations in this report will resonate with students, teachers, parents, and taxpayers without locking our state in for future massive tax hikes at a time when Pennsylvanians can least afford it,” said Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York.

The governor was a bit more neutral, saying he looked forward to addressing the issues when he delivers his budget to lawmakers in February. He pledged to continue working with leaders in both parties “to deliver a thorough and efficient public education for students across our Commonwealth.”

Some educators welcomed any help they could get.

In the Panther Valley School District - one of the plaintiffs in the Commonwealth Court case - Superintendent David McAndrew said the additional $3.5 million his district would get next year under the commission’s proposal could be the start of “transformational” change, allowing for more reading specialists, counselors, teachers, and social workers.

“The one thing I’m a little concerned about is the time frame of seven years,” McAndrew said. “Our kids have a lot of needs.”

McAndrew has a point. Seven years is a long time to make good on a situation that began around the same time this year’s seniors started elementary school, but it will give lawmakers time to tweak the process.

The additional funding will certainly help the district catch up a bit, but still shortchanges PV students trying learn in outdated, overcrowded schools.

And the past partisan nature - including Thursday’s offerings - of how to pay for our state’s education system doesn’t bode well for the years ahead.

Sturla, the Lancaster Democrat, called Thursday’s session “the end of the beginning” admitting “there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Pledges and promises don’t pay the bills for our schools.

Going forward, if our lawmakers aren’t up to the task, we can always put a fork in them.

ED SOCHA/TNEDITOR@TNONLINE.COM

Ed Socha is a retired newspaper editor with more than 40 years experience in community journalism. Reach him at tneditor@tnonline.com.

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.