The city of Philadelphia has just days to find a solution to a funding crisis in order to open its more than 200 schools for the next academic year.

Sound familiar? It should, because the same thing happened last year, when the district was facing a $50 million shortfall in funding after it had already laid off thousands of employees. Though the city eventually borrowed money to bail the district out and reinstate some employees, the last-minute fix hasn't had a lasting impact. Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite is currently asking for $81 million to bridge the gap by August 15, or schools won't open on time and the district will lay off more teachers and school staff.

But with state lawmakers out of session and unable to give the city authority to levy a $2 per pack tax on cigarettes – the currently proposed strategy that would allow schools to open on time – the prospects look dim.

"As we have stated for weeks, filling our current deficit would only bring us to a status quo budget that is inadequate by any measure," Hite said in a July 31 statement, after the state Senate delayed a vote on the tax legislation. "Unfortunately, the delay in considering the cigarette tax legislation now jeopardizes our ability to open schools on time."

According to the district's calendar, students in first through 12th grade are scheduled to begin the school year on September 8, while kindergarten students would begin the following week.

The city of Philadelphia was exceptionally hard-hit after federal stimulus funding ran out because of its unique relationship with the state. Philadelphia's school district has no school board and no taxing authority because for more than 10 years it has been run by the state – a decision former Gov. Mark Schweiker, a Republican, and former Philadelphia Mayor John Street, a Democrat, settled on in response to a financial crisis in 2001.

The district is now governed by the five-member School Reform Commission, for which three members are appointed by the governor – currently Republican Tom Corbett – and two are appointed by the mayor – Michael Nutter, a Democrat.

"[The governor] can set school district policy, basically," says John Caskey, an economics professor at Swarthmore College, located on the outskirts of Philadelphia.

Because it has no independent taxing authority, the district relies on funds from the city and state, and receives a larger amount of state funding than other districts. So when the state cut its education funding in the 2012 fiscal year, Philadelphia's school district – already poor by comparison – was disproportionately affected.

"This is a system that is desperately underfunded, that is starved for resources, and there is simply no upside there," said Education Secretary Arne Duncan during a July visit to the district, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. " And to see the personnel cuts, to see the after-school programs go away, the counselors, I just have a simple question: How is that good for children? How is that good for the city, or for the state, or for our nation?"

At the same time, many Republicans, including Corbett, who had run on "no new tax" platforms, began taking office.

"So the federal money ended, they can’t raise state taxes and there’s no place to get additional state money for the city," Caskey says. "Should they have seen it coming? Yes, and they did. I think they were just hoping the state would step in and it didn't."

At this point, the situation this year looks more dire, Caskey says, as it's unclear if significant funding will come through in time to open schools on schedule, while the school district's hands are tied.