Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Education big winner in budget plan
Gov. Josh Shapiro calling for more than $1.7 billion increase in education funding
Gov. Josh Shapiro is going all in with his support for public education in Pennsylvania.
Standing on the stairs inside the atrium of the state Capitol Tuesday afternoon, the Montgomery County Democrat presented the Legislature with his vision of the state’s 2024-25 budget.
And education funding took center stage, with Shapiro proposing an overall $1.7 billion increase in education funding.
“We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do right by our kids,” he said. “Let’s seize this moment. If we do this right, we will not only set our young people up for individual success, but we will lift up our entire commonwealth in the process.”
Shapiro is calling for the largest increase in basic education funding — the largest stream of state dollars to the state’s 500 local school districts — in Pennsylvania history.
His budget includes a $1.1 billion dollar increase in that funding, including a more than $70.7 million increase for Berks County schools. It is the second straight year the governor called for a historic increase in basic education funding.
A large chunk of the increase included in Shapiro’s budget proposal — about $900 million — would come through a new adequacy formula. The formula would be set up to direct dollars to historically underfunded districts in an attempt to address issues of financial inequity.
Shapiro said the idea is a response to a state Supreme Court ruling that deemed Pennsylvania’s education funding system unconstitutional and based on research done by a Basic Education Funding Commission.
In Berks, the adequacy formula would bring more than $60 million to local districts. The largest chunk of that would be nearly $39 million for the Reading School District.
Shaprio’s budget proposal also calls for an increase in special education funding. He is calling for an additional $50 million investment in that area, which would include a nearly $3 million increase for Berks districts.
The governor is also looking to continue to provide funding to make sure classrooms are safe and healthy. His budget proposal calls for $50 million for school safety and security improvements, as well as $300 million in funding for environmental repair projects in school buildings.
Other education-related aspects of the governor’s budget proposal include:
• Establishing a universal rate that school districts pay to cover tuition of students attending cyber charter schools. Districts currently pay a rate based on their own per-student spending, which leads to different districts paying different rates for students to attend the same school.
• A $32 million increase for the Pre-K Counts program that provides funding for children in low-income families to attend pre-kindergarten programs. The increase brings the total funding for the program to just over $302 million.
• The creation by the Department of Education of a digital literacy toolkit for teachers and parents to address the “half-truths, prejudices and propaganda” kids are being fed online daily.
• Creating a voucher program that would allow students at low-performing schools to attend another school, including private and religious schools. Shapiro attempted to create the program last year, but it was dropped as part of negotiations to pass the 2023-24 state budget.
State education organizations applaud governor
Officials from state education organizations expressed excitement and gratitude about the governor’s budget proposal.
“The governor’s budget proposal is a historic first step toward delivering what our public schools need to provide the public education that our constitution requires,” Pennsylvania State Education Association President Aaron Chapin said. “This is a solid beginning to a multiyear process, and we’re very pleased that this is one of Gov. Shapiro’s top priorities.
“We absolutely must make these critical investments in our public schools, students, educators and support staff, and we can’t allow anything to distract us from doing it.”
The leader of the state’s largest teachers union also applauded the governor’s proposed funding for school buildings and facilities, saying, “Students should learn, and educators and support professionals should work, in safe and healthy environments.”
One area where the PSEA didn’t support Shapiro was in his call for a voucher program.
“Policymakers shouldn’t even think about funding scholarships for private and religious schools,” he said. “Our public school funding system is so broken that it is unconstitutional. Fixing it to provide a thorough and efficient system of public education needs to be our highest priority.”
A statement from the Pennsylvania School Boards Association offered support for Shapiro’s budget proposal.
“The Pennsylvania School Boards Association is optimistic about the proposed investment of (nearly) $1.8 billion in public education included in Gov. Shapiro’s second budget address,” it read.
The PSBA statement said the investment the governor is calling for shows that he has listened to school leaders who have spoken about the critical needs of public schools.
“PSBA stands ready to work with the administration and general assembly throughout the budget process to enact funding and policy changes that will not only bring Pennsylvania’s education funding into compliance with the state constitution, but also provide a high-quality education for the 1.7 million students who attend a public school,” the statement reads.