Pennsylvania’s school funding system is broken. It is unfair and inadequate. PA ranks 45th in state share for education.

• Pennsylvania has the widest funding gap between wealthy and poor school districts of any state in the country, with the wealthiest school districts spending 33% more on each student than the poorest districts.
• Most Pennsylvania public schools are inadequately funded. As a result, four of every five of the state’s school districts, serving 1.4 million students, are not getting their fair state share. Nearly half of school districts are spending below the amount needed to educate students. That underspending is a direct result of inadequate state support.
• That means lost opportunities for students to participate in valuable science, technology, and math programs; receive enough personal attention from their teachers due to growing class sizes; get extra help when they need it; have access to up-to-date books and technology; or participate in vocational training and extracurricular activities.

View and download individual school district data sheets by using the tools below.

Intermediate Units (IU) can be clicked on the interactive map to view a list of school districts in that region. The library located below the map is arranged alphabetically by school district name.  You can sort the list by county, legislator name, Intermediate Unit, or even search for a specific PDF with the search field.

What Must Be Done

The state must fund public education equitably and adequately so that all Pennsylvania students, regardless of race, ethnicity, ability, family income or the community where they live, can attend public schools that will ensure they graduate with the 21st-century skills necessary for success in college or a career.

To achieve PA Schools Work’s mission that Basic Education Funding meets the purpose and intent of the current funding formula, the state must pay its fair share of public education costs by:

• Increasing basic education funding to close the state’s more than $4 billion adequacy gap;
• Ensuring sufficient resources for special education and career and technical education;
• Delivering targeted property tax relief to those who need it;
• Generating the necessary revenues through sustainable, recurring funding sources.

School districts need help with the rising costs of special education.

SOURCE NOTES
March 2023

(latest update: 4-20-23)