PA Schools Work Coalition Commends Codification of Adequacy Gap, Pushes for Timeline to Achieve Constitutional Compliance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 11, 2024

CONTACT:
John Neurohr, jneurohr@clearpointpa.com, 717-364-6452

HARRISBURG – Following the passage of the 2024-25 fiscal year budget plan, the PA Schools Work campaign issued the following statement:

“The K-12 appropriation in this year’s agreed-to budget, while not at the levels of Governor Shapiro’s historic proposal and with no timeline toward a constitutionally compliant funding system, makes major investments in public schools that will provide new resources to students, including an unprecedented focus on investments in Pennsylvania’s most underfunded school districts. This funding is an urgent necessity that our coalition has been fighting for alongside many pro-public education legislators and on behalf of students for more than a decade: It will go a long way, particularly in the poorest school districts.

“Lawmakers enacted a school code that codifies a school funding adequacy gap of $4.5 billion, which must be filled to meet the constitutional requirement laid out in the Commonwealth Court ruling. This budget fills 10.9% of the adequacy gap, requiring significant investments in subsequent years.

“PA Schools Work applauds the House majority for their honorable attempt to move the Commonwealth toward a constitutionally compliant public school funding system with a dogged effort to include the seven-year plan in this budget agreement. With that chamber’s bipartisan passage of HB 2370, the House majority demonstrated the political will to stand up for public school students, educators and their communities, time and again — their plan created a clear, reasonable timeline and would have been a game-changer for students. Unfortunately, Senate majority leadership refused to take up the bill, leaving Pennsylvania public schools without a plan or funding timeline.”

“Governor Shapiro and both chambers of the General Assembly now have the responsibility to close the remainder of the gap within a clear, reasonable timeframe. Lawmakers must finish the job.”

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PA Schools Work is a non-partisan coalition of organizations from across Pennsylvania representing teachers and other educators; urban, suburban, and rural communities; and parents and community members working together to advocate for PA public schools, their students, and the communities they serve. PA Schools Work partners include: 412 Justice, ACLAMO, The ARC of Pennsylvania, Children First, Education Law Center, Education Voters of Pennsylvania, Keystone Research Center, Make the Road PA, PA Youth Vote, Pennsylvania Policy Center, Public Interest Law Center, Research for Action, Teach Plus PA, and the Urban League of Philadelphia. For more information on PA Schools Work, visit www. paschoolswork.org.