HARRISBURG, Penn. – School districts across Pennsylvania may face another round of budget cuts if public employee pension costs are not reined in, warned Gov. Tom Corbett.

According to a press release from the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget, the state’s two major pension plans—the State Employees’ Retirement System and the Public School Employees’ Retirement System—have an unfunded liability of $41 billion.

And those costs are only expected to skyrocket in coming years.

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At a press briefing on Jan. 10, Corbett called the pension crisis “a tapeworm in the budget” and said his budget address next month will include a pension reform plan.

Last Wednesday, Corbett said he would not immediately slash funding for education but warned reforms must take place.

“We are going to present a budget based on some assumptions, and based upon getting some reforms done,” said Corbett. “And if they can’t get the reform done, then there’s going to have to be some adjustments to the budget.”

Corbett’s pension reform proposal may involve transitioning the public pension systems to operate much like private sector pension systems, reports the Times Herald.

A handful of Pennsylvania senators have already introduced a bill to enroll new hires in a 401(k)-style defined contribution plan. The proposal calls for the state to match up to 6 percent of applicable earnings.

“The basic idea is to bring public sector pensions in line with private sector pensions,” said Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi.

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Corbett described previous attempts to address the pension crisis as “nibbling around the edges.”

In 2010, the state Legislature approved Act 120, reducing benefits for new employees, increasing the retirement age and eliminating the ability to withdraw pension earnings in one lump sum, reports the news site.

Pennsylvania State Education Association President Michael Crossley released a statement last August defending the pension payouts.

“School employees’ pension benefits have not gone up and the school employees never stopped paying their 7.5 percent of salary toward their pensions, even with the Commonwealth not making adequate payments over the last 12 years,” said Crossley.

Nathan Benefield, director of policy analysis at the Commonwealth Foundation, said pension costs had already resulted in the layoffs of nearly 6,000 teachers and could increase costs for the average Pennsylvania homeowner by $348, reports the news site.

“Many families will pay more than $1,000 in additional taxes for pension debt we accumulated over the past decade and get nothing more for their money,” wrote Benefield.

State budget secretary Charles Zogby said the state is considering multiple avenues in moving forward.

“None of this is pain free,” said Zogby, “but I think the taxpayers have reached their maximum level of pain in terms of school cuts.”

Corbett will give his budget address on Feb. 5.