Pa. has history of denying school funds

The advocacy for an equitable public education continues in fits and starts.

“Education: May the film be removed from the eye of Pennsylvania and she learn to dread ignorance more than taxation.”

Those words, spoken as a toast by Thaddeus Stevens in 1826, illustrate how long the battle for school funding has existed in this commonwealth.

Stevens is best known for his role in Congress as a fierce advocate for emancipation and coauthor of the 14th Amendment. Earlier, as a Pennsylvania lawmaker from Lancaster and York counties, he fought for free public education for all children.

Fawn M. Brodie’s biography “Thaddeus Stevens: Scourge of the South” describes fiery rhetoric in the state House to convince lawmakers of the value of public education for all Pennsylvanians, not just those who could afford private schools.

Nearly 200 years later, the advocacy for an equitable public education continues in fits and starts, moving forward but not closing the gap between the haves and the have-nots.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s budget address this month proposed increasing grants for Basic Education, Early Education and minimum salaries for teachers.

However, the lack of a proposal to fix the system of school funding which relies heavily on local property taxes was unaddressed, disappointing fair funding advocates, the Associated Press reported last week.

The AP report, and a drumbeat of protests by school districts in this region, point out that despite Wolf’s attempts for gains in state funding, Pennsylvania’s school-funding system remains one of the least equitable in the nation.

“Districts in the top half of average household income spent $673 more per student than districts in the bottom half, according to an Associated Press analysis of 2016-17 state data on school district spending, income and attendance, the latest available.

“The gap is wider on the farther ends of the income spectrum: The wealthiest 10 districts spent an average of $4,300 more per student, or more than a quarter above what the poorest 10 districts spent, according to AP’s analysis,” the AP report stated.

This year the governor is attempting a strategy of increasing school funds without raising taxes, acknowledging that under the Fair Funding Formula, constituents in most state legislative districts would pay more in taxes with money going to schools in other areas.

If fully implemented, the Fair Funding Formula would reduce state aid to 70 percent of the state’s 500 school districts. That’s a lot of votes lawmakers don’t want to lose.

Formulas aside, Pennsylvania remains 46th out of 50 states in the share of state funding provided to all schools, rich or poor. The shortfall in statebased funding exacerbates the situation for poorer districts with low local tax bases, driving the inequities.

Wolf’s budget does propose more money to early education programs, which are important in poor districts where children do not have the advantages and exposure to learning that exists in wealthier households.

We applaud the work of programs in districts like Pottstown, where Early Action for Kindergarten Readiness initiatives “emotionally prepares students to deal with the world, and economically … is the best way to invest in education,” according to Pottstown Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez.

A study by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia supports that statement, noting that Pottstown has been on the forefront of early education since 1989 when it implemented half-day Pre-K classes in all its elementary schools.

“Research from 2016 found that children who participated in PEAK’s pre-kindergarten programs performed better than the district average on literacy assessments when they arrived in kindergarten and each subsequent year through third grade,” according to the Economy League data.

Wolf’s budget proposal recognizes the value of pre-k education in proposing more funding for those programs. And, proposed basic education subsidy increases funneled through the Fair Funding Formula would provide proportionately more funding to districts like Pottstown, Upper Darby and William Penn. But well-to-do districts are also getting increases, so the gap between the haves and have-nots remains.

Two centuries ago, Stevens compared legislators’ objections to school funding as favoring the economics of improving hog farming over improving the breed of men by addressing the intellects of children.

The argument remains true today. The future depends on the ability of all children to succeed. It is our duty to invest in that future.