HARRISBURG, Pa. — Advocates from across the Commonwealth came to the State Capitol in Harrisburg on Wednesday to urge for equitable funding for public schools.
They say the nearly $2 billion increase in educational funding in Governor Shapiro's 2024-2025 budget could help accomplish that goal.
“This fight for public school funding has been going on for decades," said Priyanka Reyes-Kaura, K-12 policy director at Children First. "We believe this is the year for lawmakers to finish the job and finish the fair funding of public schools.”
In February of last year, the Commonwealth Court ruled the Pennsylvania school funding system was unconstitutional, finding that the state was depriving students of needed resources in lower income districts that can’t generate as much property tax revenue as wealthier ones.
Public school advocates say the problem is happening all over the state.
“The majority of public school districts across the state don’t have enough to meet their students needs," said Reyes-Kaura. "They don’t have enough to pay teachers, they don’t have enough to have safe facilities for students, and all kinds of basic needs are being unmet.”
According to a report by the Basic Education Funding Commission (BEFC), Gov. Shapiro’s budget could help increase educational funding in Pennsylvania by more than $5 billion over seven years.
To address the inequity in public school funding, nearly $1 billion of that would go through an “adequacy formula” and would be distributed to schools based on their need.
Advocates say this can level the playing field for all students.
“We believe in their futures; we believe they are the future," said Reyes-Kaura. "They are our future economy, they are our future society, and we want to invest in them because we believe in their potential.”
On Tuesday, the State Senate approved the Republicans' $3 billion tax cut plan, which differs with Gov. Shapiro's new budget to boost spending by the same amount.
The tax cut plan now heads to the State House where it meets an uncertain future, while budget negotiations will take place over the next couple weeks.