ELC Executive Director Deborah Gordon Klehr writes a letter to the editor in the Delco Times addressing the pervasive challenges underfunded school districts have in meeting the needs of special education students. Read more here.
Budget
Child Advocates Seek More Special Ed Funding
The Sanatoga Post writes about the two dozen advocacy organizations that worked together to pressure Pennsylvania lawmakers to increase the money available for special education purposes. The article quotes ELC Attorney Reynelle Brown Staley. Read here.
Gov. Wolf emphasizes education, but scales back funding ambitions during final first term budget address
WHYY quotes ELC Executive Director Deborah Gordon Klehr on Governor Wolf’s proposed budget. “Our children need more,” Klehr writes. Read more here.
Pennsylvania’s New Budget: For Education, Barely a Start
Pennsylvania has an on-time budget for 2018-19, approved by the legislature and signed by Gov. Wolf on June 22. It provides modest but needed new funding for Pennsylvania’s schoolchildren. While the additional dollars for schools help, this budget increase provides only a small fraction of what is needed for an adequately and equitably funded statewide public education system. The heavy lifting is still needed as urgently as ever to address shortfalls in school funding across the state. Read more here.
ELC Applauds Gov. Wolf’s Education Budget Proposals, but PA Still Has Far to Go.
Education Law Center Executive Director Deborah Gordon Klehr applauded Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed increases in funding for basic education, special education, early education, and career and technical education in his Feb. 6 budget address. But the state still has far to go, she said in a press statement, to achieve an adequate and equitable funding system. Read the statement here.
City’s public schools, education beneficiaries of new state budget
by Stacy M. Brown, Philadelphia Tribune, Jul 8, 2017
After state lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a $32 billion budget that still has no defined plan in which to pay for it, many around the commonwealth have hailed the spending plan as a victory for public schools and for early childhood and special education.
Local lawmakers added that it’s a victory for Philadelphia area schools as well.
Education Law Center Statement on the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Proposed 2017-18 State Budget
June 30, 2017
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center, released the following statement today in response to the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s proposed 2017-18 state budget:
“The Pennsylvania General Assembly has sent Governor Tom Wolf a compromise state budget agreement that provides some needed new funding for education, including basic education, special education, and early education. Specifically, the bill includes $100 million increase for basic education funding, $25 million increase in special education, $30 million in additional funding for early education, and a $19 million increase in funding for early intervention services for children ages birth-five. Our schools and students sorely need these resources now and the Education Law Center urges Governor Wolf to sign the budget into law. Continue reading
Education Law Center Statement on Governor Tom Wolf’s Pennsylvania Budget Address
Feb. 7, 2017
Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center, issued this statement following Governor Tom Wolf’s budget address today:
“Governor Wolf’s proposed increase in state funding for basic, special, and early education in next year’s budget is welcome given the Commonwealth’s difficult budget situation. His proposal to increase early education funding by $75 million and to allocate additional funding to early intervention services represent crucial investments that will help ensure more children enter school ready to learn. But while any additional funding helps, the Governor’s proposed increase of $100 million in basic education and $25 million in special education funding will not be enough to allow schools to close longstanding resource gaps. Our schools currently face a $3 billion adequacy gap. And Pennsylvania ranks 46th in terms of state share of K-12 education funding and has the largest gap in the nation between what our poorest and wealthiest districts receive. Continued educational investments are key to the Commonwealth’s long-term economic competitiveness. We must build off recent successes, including modest increases to basic education funding and the adoption of a fair funding formula to equitably distribute new educational investments to the districts and students who need help the most. We will continue to work with the Governor and the General Assembly to ensure that the budget reflects Pennsylvanians’ priorities and the needs of our students.”
###
The Education Law Center-PA (“ELC”) is a non-profit, legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Through legal representation, impact litigation, trainings, and policy advocacy, ELC advances the rights of vulnerable children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, English language learners, LGBTQ students, and children experiencing homelessness. For more information visit https://elc-pa.org/ or follow on Twitter @edlawcenterpa.
Education Law Center statement on the completion of the 2016-2017 Pennsylvania budget
July 13, 2016
Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center, issued the following statement on the completion of the 2016-2017 Pennsylvania budget:
“While we are encouraged that this year’s recently approved state budget with accompanying revenue will include an additional $200 million in funding for basic education, $20 million in special education, and $30 million in early education, this increase still falls far short of what our children need and what Governor Wolf originally requested. It will allow school districts to plug some budget holes in the short term but will prevent schools from making important investments to improve student performance in the long term. It also locks in long-term structural inequities that will continue to leave many of Pennsylvania’s schoolchildren behind.
“Even with the passage of the 2016-2017 budget, proper funding for public education remains wholly inadequate and inequitable in Pennsylvania. Tens of thousands of schoolchildren can no longer wait for the long-term, sustained investments in education they need to succeed. That is why we are vigorously pursuing Pennsylvania’s fair funding lawsuit before the state Supreme Court to implement a long-term solution to ensure that the Commonwealth meets its constitutional requirement to provide a ‘thorough and efficient’ public school system that serves all children regardless of their ZIP code. We look forward to presenting our case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on September 13, 2016.”
###
The Education Law Center-PA (“ELC”) is a non-profit, legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Through legal representation, impact litigation, trainings, and policy advocacy, ELC advances the rights of vulnerable children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, English language learners, and children experiencing homelessness.
www.elc-pa.org | www.facebook.com/educationlawcenter | www.twitter.com/edlawcenterpa
PHILADELPHIA: 1315 Walnut Street, 4th Floor | Philadelphia, PA 19107 | 215-238-6970
PITTSBURGH: 429 Fourth Avenue Suite, 702 | Pittsburgh, PA 15219 | 412-258-2120
ELC Statement on the Final Passage of the 16-17 State Budget Bill
July 1, 2016
Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center, issued the following statement on the final passage of the 16-17 state budget bill.
“While we are pleased that the General Assembly has approved an additional $200 million in funding for basic education, $20 million in special education, and $25 million in early education, this increased appropriation still falls far short of what our children need and what Governor Wolf originally requested. And while we applaud the state for utilizing a new bipartisan funding formula to distribute the basic education dollars more fairly, this formula is only as good as the money that funds it. This year’s amount is insufficient to close the massive adequacy gaps that exist.
This agreement will allow school districts to plug budget holes in the short term, but it will also prevent schools from making important investments to improve student performance. At the same time, this budget locks in long-term structural inequities that leave many of Pennsylvania’s schoolchildren behind.
Even as we call on the Governor and the General Assembly to continue to work together to bring needed resources back into our schools, we know that tens of thousands of Pennsylvania children can no longer wait for the long-term, sustained investments in education they need to succeed. That is why we plan to continue vigorously pursuing Pennsylvania’s fair funding lawsuit before the state Supreme Court in September to ensure that the Commonwealth meets its constitutional requirement to provide a “thorough and efficient” public school system that serves all children regardless of their ZIP code.”
###
The Education Law Center-PA (“ELC”) is a non-profit, legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Through legal representation, impact litigation, trainings, and policy advocacy, ELC advances the rights of vulnerable children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, English language learners, and children experiencing homelessness.
www.elc-pa.org | www.facebook.com/educationlawcenter | www.twitter.com/edlawcenterpa
PHILADELPHIA: 1315 Walnut Street, 4th Floor | Philadelphia, PA 19107 | 215-238-6970
PITTSBURGH: 429 Fourth Avenue Suite, 702 | Pittsburgh, PA 15219 | 412-258-2120
Join us May 2 in Harrisburg for the Fight for Fair Funding
Public schools in Pennsylvania are a far cry from the “thorough and efficient” system of education guaranteed under our state constitution. Years of neglect and stagnation in Harrisburg have left our children waiting for far too long. Budget cuts have forced school districts around the state to make dramatic changes. Without librarians, guidance counselors, nurses or even enough teachers, our students are suffering.
That’s why we want YOU to join Education Law Center and members of the Campaign for Fair Education Funding in Harrisburg on May 2nd! Register now to reserve your spot on a free bus from Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, PA.
WHO: The Campaign for Fair Education Funding
WHAT: Rally for Fair Education Funding
WHERE: The Main Rotunda at the State Capitol, Harrisburg, PA
Buses of supporters are leaving from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
WHEN: Monday, May 2, 12:30 p.m.
(Buses from your respective locations will leave at various times that morning)
Click the link below to reserve your spot in the fight for fair education funding!
We hope to see you in Harrisburg on May 2nd! Need assistance registering? Email Spencer Malloy at [email protected].
Education Law Center-PA issues statement regarding today’s state budget announcement
Mar. 23, 2016
The Education Law Center’s Executive Director Deborah Gordon Klehr issued the following statement regarding today’s state budget announcement: Continue reading
Mayor Kenney delivers first budget address
Mayor Jim Kenney’s first budget address, delivered before City Council on Thursday, featured a number of initiatives revolving around “five interlocking programs” that will deliver the core services the new mayor said Philadelphians are calling for.
Sign on to a letter urging legislators to increase funding for special education in PA
Mar. 2, 2016
State legislators are currently holding hearings regarding Pennsylvania’s proposed budget. Early next week, Appropriations Committee hearings will focus on education funding, including special education.
The voices of advocates for children with disabilities need to be heard. We are asking you to consider signing off on the attached letter urging legislators to increase funding for special education. This is a critical issue for students with disabilities who have been deeply impacted by significant underfunding for many years.
If you are involved with an organization that would be interested in signing on to our letter, please click here. Please fill out the form by 5 PM this Friday, March 4th.
Educators more concerned about this year’s budget than new proposals
Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal for significant budget increases to public education drew a uniform response from school officials, teacher union leaders and education advocacy groups: The promise of more money next year is meaningless without a working budget this year.
“It’s hard to get happy with numbers if the numbers don’t mean anything,” said David Seropian, business manager for the McKeesport Area School District. “If the numbers come to fruition then we would be pleased.”
Sto-Rox Superintendent Terry DeCarbo said he was “optimistic but skeptical” of the governor’s 2016-17 proposed spending plan.
And North Hills School District Director of Finance and Operations David Hall said he paid no attention to the governor’s proposal on Tuesday because “right now it’s just pie in the sky.”
Mr. Wolf’s education funding proposals are based on the assumption that the framework budget he reached with Senate Republicans in December will be made into law.
That means his proposal assumes the state adds $377 million in the current year to the main funding line for K-12 education. The 2016-17 budget proposal would add another $200 million in the new budget year.
In addition, the governor would add $60 million next year for early childhood education on top of a $60 million increase he hopes for this year and proposes an additional $50 million for special education on top of $50 million he hopes will be enacted in this year’s budget.
The money would be distributed using the fair funding formula created and adopted by the bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission in June 2015.
Statements from the Education Law Center, Pennsylvania School Boards Association and the Pennsylvania State Education Association applauded the governor’s proposed funding increases, but urged legislators to work with administration to approve a budget and get funds flowing to the schools.
“This is just unacceptable. It’s nothing short of a crisis and it must be fixed,” said PSEA president Jerry Oleksiak said.
Both McKeesport and Sto-rox have borrowed money to get through this school year as a result of frozen state subsides.
McKeesport borrowed $5 million last fall to meet expenses, a debt that was repaid when districts received about 45 percent of their state funding last month. But the McKeesport board is preparing to take another $3.6 million line of credit next month if a state budget is not approved and the remaining subsidies released.
Sto-Rox is functioning by paying bills from a $7.3 million line of credit it arranged last summer.
“We are $2 million into it and that $2 million is all for the safety of the staff and students, the day-to-day operations, just keeping the lights on. We are standing in place on initiatives and rollouts because we can’t fund it. We are just maintaining,” Mr. DeCarbo said.
Linda Hippert, executive director of the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, said the lack of adequate state funding is becoming evident in the gap between districts that have financial resources and those that do not.
“We are applauding the governor for sticking to his vision,” Mrs. Hippert said. “But at the same time we as a commonwealth, with the legislators, have to have and share a vision for education and determine what it takes to meet that at some level because we are moving in the wrong direction.”
Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Linda Lane said “we totally appreciate [the governor’s] unwavering resolve to address funding issues in the schools across the Commonwealth” and urged legislators to “resolve this in a way that we can all move ahead.”
“At the end of the day, the kids are still going to school every day. None of us can ever forget that,” Mrs. Hippert said.
Molly Born contributed. Mary Niederberger: [email protected], 412-263-1590. On Twitter @MaryNied.
Continued investment needed to adequately meet the needs of PA’s children
February 9, 2016
Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center-PA, issued the following statement regarding Governor Wolf’s Budget Address:
“We applaud Governor Wolf’s continued attempts to provide desperately needed resources to Pennsylvania’s schoolchildren. Years of state cuts to education spending and one-time fixes have disproportionately negatively impacted students in our poorest communities.
“Governor Wolf’s proposal to increase basic education funding levels by $200 million for the next fiscal year, in addition to his continued work toward a $377 million basic education funding increase this year, would allow schools across Pennsylvania to begin restoring critical programs and supports to classrooms. His proposal to increase early childhood and special education funding further reflects the need to invest in the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable children.
“Furthermore, we appreciate the governor’s continued commitment to a bipartisan formula that directs state education funding to the students and districts that need it most. Pennsylvania’s school funding system is the most inequitable in the country. Years of inadequate and inequitable funding have forced many school districts to eliminate programs, lay off teachers, and reduce academic support for students. The new funding formula is an important first step to ensuring that all students have access to meaningful educational opportunities.
“But even as the governor is proposing new education funding for the upcoming fiscal year, negotiations to ensure increased education funding in this year’s budget have dragged on for an unconscionably long period of time. The governor and legislative leaders must finally end our state’s budget crisis by approving a long-term solution to give Pennsylvania’s children the tools they need to succeed.
“Yet even if the governor’s proposal is approved by the General Assembly, it is only a down payment toward providing Pennsylvania’s children with the thorough and efficient education system they are guaranteed by our state Constitution. Two years of increased education funding will not be enough to correct the vast disparities between our poorest and wealthiest districts. We need a sustainable, equitable, and predictable school funding system to give all children the education they need, regardless of ZIP code, income, or race.”
# # #
The Education Law Center-PA (“ELC”) is a non-profit, legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Through legal representation, impact litigation, trainings, and policy advocacy, ELC advances the rights of vulnerable children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, English language learners, and children experiencing homelessness.
www.elc-pa.org | www.facebook.com/educationlawcenter | www.twitter.com/edlawcenterpa
PHILADELPHIA: 1315 Walnut Street, 4th Floor | Philadelphia, PA 19107 | 215-238-6970
PITTSBURGH: 429 Fourth Avenue Suite, 702 | Pittsburgh, PA 15219 | 412-258-2120
Education Law Center-PA Statement on Wolf announcement of proposed Basic Education Funding increase
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 2, 2016
Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center-PA, issued the following statement regarding Governor Wolf’s announcement of his proposed basic education funding levels for 2016-2017:
“We welcome Governor Wolf’s proposal to finally bring an end to Pennsylvania’s months-long budget stalemate. Additional resources are desperately needed for school districts across our commonwealth that are relying on emergency funding just to maintain the inadequate status quo.
The $377 million in additional basic education funding for this fiscal year and the $200 million in funding for the next fiscal year proposed by the Governor would allow school districts to begin to restore critical programs and supports – including addressing curriculum deficiencies, providing remedial help, updated textbooks, and school counselors. We are pleased that the governor is pressing for the adoption of a bipartisan education funding formula for the upcoming fiscal year – though a formula is only as good as the dollars sent through it.
The Governor’s proposal would be only a down payment on the resources that are required to ensure that every child in Pennsylvania receives the thorough and efficient public education guaranteed by our Constitution. Substantially more resources are needed to close longstanding adequacy gaps which keep our children from meeting state standards.
Education shouldn’t be a partisan issue. It is the most important investment we can make in our future, and we call on the Governor and legislative leaders to immediately return to the negotiating table to find a long-term, sustainable solution that prepares children to succeed and to compete in the global economy.”
# # #
The Education Law Center-PA (“ELC”) is a non-profit, legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality public education. Through legal representation, impact litigation, trainings, and policy advocacy, ELC advances the rights of vulnerable children, including children living in poverty, children of color, children in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, children with disabilities, English language learners, and children experiencing homelessness.
www.elc-pa.org | www.facebook.com/educationlawcenter | www.twitter.com/edlawcenterpa
PHILADELPHIA: 1315 Walnut Street, 4th Floor | Philadelphia, PA 19107 | 215-238-6970
PITTSBURGH: 429 Fourth Avenue Suite, 702 | Pittsburgh, PA 15219 | 412-258-2120
Opinion: Fully and fairly fund our schools
Jan. 17, 2016 – The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – By Nancy A. Hubley and Patrick Dowd
Pennsylvania’s leaders have signed off on school funding reform. It’s long past time they got it done.
This month Pennsylvania began 2016 without a full budget, leaving the short- and long-term needs of every school — and every student — up in the air.
In the short term, the partial spending plan recently signed by Gov. Tom Wolf will provide desperately needed emergency cash for schools and human services, but only enough to push off closures and further cuts for a few more months.
In the long term, the budget gridlock means that one of the fundamental issues facing Pennsylvania — the need to repair our broken public school funding system — remains unresolved.
Not having sufficient resources is unfortunately nothing new for Pennsylvania students. Years of inadequate and inequitable funding have forced many school districts to eliminate programs, lay off teachers and reduce academic support for students. These cuts particularly harm at-risk learners who lag behind their peers and will continue to do so unless they are provided with resources and supports that address their needs.
The reality is that the state’s current system of funding education simply does not work. On that, virtually everyone agrees: Republicans, Democrats and educators in rural, urban, suburban and charter schools. The system does not provide sufficient resources to educate every student to academic standards, nor does it distribute dollars in a fair and predictable way.
The budget gridlock has only made things worse: Scores of school districts across the state have been forced to borrow emergency funds just to keep their already-underfunded doors open.
The result, repeated again and again since long before today’s ongoing budget impasse, is that Pennsylvania has the widest funding gap between wealthy and poor school districts of any state in the country. That means that the amount of money available to educate a child varies widely, depending solely on where each child happens to live. The lack of predictability in the distribution of funds also means that school districts cannot effectively plan for the future.
Pennsylvania’s inadequate school funding system has compelled our organizations to help create and lead the Campaign for Fair Education Funding, a coalition of more than 50 diverse organizations dedicated to advancing a funding system that allocates state education dollars in a fair way so that all children have a chance to succeed no matter where they live.
Last June, the bipartisan state Basic Education Funding Commission, made up of representatives from the governor’s office, the Department of Education and members of both parties in the state House and Senate, responded to this call for action and unanimously approved recommendations for a new school funding formula. After months of hearings, analysis and negotiations, the commission developed a formula that would address the concerns of schools and remove politics from decisions as to whether students have the resources they need to succeed.
This balanced formula would direct money to school districts based on objective factors, such as student enrollment, the needs of the student population and school district wealth and capacity to raise local revenue. It was widely praised by legislators, local school officials and other experts and editorial boards across Pennsylvania as a critical first step towards equity and adequacy in Pennsylvania’s school funding.
In a year of political gridlock and increasing polarization, it is notable that all sides came together to find a solution to benefit students. The formula’s adoption, however, is still in question.
It was included in the budget framework that the governor and legislative leaders agreed to back in November, when a consensus was reached to direct some new dollars to restore past funding cuts while distributing the remaining dollars through the new funding formula. In future years, the new, fairer formula would be used to distribute all funding.
If the governor and legislators want to move toward sustained, meaningful investment in our schools, they should pass a full budget that contains at least an additional $350 million for basic education to help restore previous school funding cuts and begin implementing the new funding formula. This significant increase in basic funding would be only a down payment on the long-term investment required to reach equitable and adequate funding, but it is a necessary first step.
It is time for lawmakers to cast aside their differences for what should be their top priority: an equitable basic education funding system that provides a strong foundation for the long-term investment that is needed in our public schools.
Pennsylvania’s students, who are shortchanged every day by our broken system, cannot afford to wait any longer.
Nancy A. Hubley is Pittsburgh director of the Education Law Center. Patrick Dowd is executive director of Allies for Children.
Op-Ed: Proposed changes to Pa. law would squander higher school funding
Jan. 20, 2016 – the Philadelphia Public School Notebook – by Michael Churchill, Deborah Gordon Klehr, Susan Spicka
Earlier this month, Gov. Wolf approved emergency funding to allow schools to remain open despite the ongoing budget impasse in Harrisburg. We are pleased that the governor is holding out for an agreement with legislative leaders that would result in a historic $350 million increase in basic education funding, which would include a $100 million restoration of funding to Philadelphia schools. This money would provide immediate relief to a cash-strapped district and would allow it to begin restoring cuts to nurses, counselors, and other vital services after years of bare-bones budgeting.
Yet those gains could be fleeting.
We are deeply troubled by language that has been inserted into the proposed Pennsylvania School Code that would enact sweeping changes to our state charter school policy. The changes would weaken the important role of school districts as charter authorizers to both manage responsible charter school growth and ensure that charter schools are providing a high-quality education to all kinds of students.
To be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars, fiscally distressed school districts must balance requests for charter expansion with the fact that every new charter school costs districts money and siphons resources away from children who remain in traditional public schools. Indeed, the School District of Philadelphia would have to set aside $35 million of the $100 million in additional funding it would receive under the previously agreed-upon budget framework simply to cover additional payments to charter schools.
The proposed school code language contains provisions – in effect directed only at Philadelphia — requiring five schools a year to be designated for takeover by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. At least two, and possibly all five, would be converted to charter schools.
The irony, of course, is that Philadelphia’s schools are already controlled by the state. There’s no evidence that this move will improve results – but it is sure to worsen the District’s structural deficit.
Additional language applicable to every school district in the state would weaken local districts’ ability to provide effective oversight of charter school operators to ensure that charter expansion occurs in sustainable ways and that charter operators deliver quality education to their students. It would enable charter schools across the state to amend the terms of their charters, create cross-district charter school networks, open new buildings, add new grades, and expand enrollment – all without the authorization of local school boards. It would also reduce accountability by allowing charter schools to go a full decade before having to renew their charters.
Taken together, the school code as written is a Trojan horse, destroying what it purports to save.
Our calculations show that these provisions could increase costs to districts so much that even with increased revenues, this budget deal could result in a net loss for the School District of Philadelphia in as little as 36 months.
Thus even as lawmakers in Harrisburg continue to complain that Philadelphia schools need to live within their means, they are pushing legislative language that would continue to burden the district with costly new mandates that only dig the District into a deeper financial hole.
At the same time, they fail to recognize that Philadelphia schools educate far more students in poverty, English language learners, and vulnerable students than almost all districts in the state. Roughly 85 percent of Philadelphia schoolchildren come from poor families – compared with a statewide average of 43 percent.
Even worse, there are rumblings in Harrisburg that lawmakers, skittish about raising taxes to support increased investment in our schoolchildren in an election year, may attempt to abandon substantial education funding increases while continuing to pursue this aggressive pro-charter language. This would leave Philadelphia with greater expenses and more cuts in services for its students.
The governor should make it clear that this would be unacceptable.
The important question about the role that charter schools should play in our educational system deserves its own broad and wide-ranging debate and should not be swept into the budget negotiations as a price that Philadelphia pays to get past funding cuts restored. The Philadelphia delegation should carefully review the costs of additional funding in deciding what to support.
There’s still time to make things right. As lawmakers return to Harrisburg to resume negotiations on a budget solution, these destructive proposed provisions should be eliminated from the school code.
Our lawmakers must instead refocus on passing a budget that contains at least $350 million in new basic education money to help restore school funding cuts and that begins to implement a new funding formula that rationally and fairly distributes education dollars. Only then can we embark on a long-term, sustainable solution that begins to right the School District’s finances and reflects our commonwealth’s values by beginning to provide every child with the resources needed to succeed.
Michael Churchill is an attorney at the Public Interest Law Center.
Deborah Gordon Klehr is executive director of the Education Law Center of Pennsylvania.
Susan Spicka is an advocacy coordinator for Education Voters PA.
Education Law Center calls on policymakers to resume negotiations on budget that invests in our children
December 29, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Deborah Gordon Klehr, Executive Director of the Education Law Center-PA, issued the following statement following the Governor’s Budget Address:
“We are pleased that the Governor exercised his line-item veto powers this morning to force all parties back to the negotiating table. We agree that the release of emergency funding is necessary to ensure that schools remain open during this impasse, but let’s be clear: Emergency funding is not sufficient and certainly not a long-term solution. All parties must immediately resume negotiations on a final budget package that makes needed investments in our children.
“The compromise budget that legislative leaders and the Governor agreed to several weeks ago is not perfect – but it is an important step in the right direction. Pennsylvania has the largest funding gap in the nation between rich and poor school districts, and its state share of public education funding is among the lowest in the country. The proposed compromise budget would begin to fund a bipartisan funding formula designed to address these historic inequities and entrenched funding inadequacies. It would also begin to provide schools with much-needed resources and help ensure that all children have access to a quality education no matter where they live.
“We urge our state policymakers to come back to the table and pass an adequate budget to support our schools. We must ensure that every child in Pennsylvania has the tools necessary to succeed, and that can only happen with a budget that reflects Pennsylvanians’ priorities and puts children first.”
# # #
The Education Law Center is a non-profit, legal advocacy organization dedicated to ensuring that all children in Pennsylvania have access to a quality education. Through litigation, information, and advocacy, we advance the rights of vulnerable children of color, in poverty, in foster care, homeless or with disabilities, and English language learners. We are leaders in the statewide Fight for Fair Funding for all schools, Ensuring Equal Access to education for all children, and Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline that pushes young people out of school and into the criminal justice system.
Learn more: www.elc-pa.org | @edlawcenterpa | facebook