Pennsylvania is struggling with both its difficulties in passing a budget as well as responding to a court order to fix its school funding system. Mark Stier writes at the Times Observer about what Pennsylvania’s taxpayers really want.
The landmark 2023 ruling by Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court in the school funding case wasn’t just another judicial decision – it was a powerful affirmation of what many educators, parents, and advocates have long known: our state’s school funding system is fundamentally broken and unconstitutional.
As we approach another critical budget, Pennsylvania must decide: either continue to meaningfully address the school funding crisis or fall farther behind in fulfilling our constitutional obligations to our children.
The mathematics of educational inequity in our state is stark. Currently, 77% of Pennsylvania’s public schools are underfunded, creating an enormous $4 billion adequacy gap. This gap represents countless missed opportunities, reduced educational programs, and diminished futures for Pennsylvania’s children.
Recent polling from PA Schools Work reveals strong bipartisan support for addressing this crisis. An overwhelming 60% of Republican voters support increasing state-level education funding. The level of support among Republican parents and grandparents rises to 73%. Support for education funding crosses party lines because everyone wants to invest in our children’s success.
Gov. Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal offers a starting point for addressing these systemic inequities. However, the scope of the challenge demands even bolder action. To provide the thorough and efficient education system our constitution requires, Pennsylvania schools need at minimum $526 million in new adequacy funding, $75 million more in Basic Education Funding, and $40 million in Special Education Funding this year alone.
One crucial aspect of reform – and a way to help school districts provide for their students – involves addressing our deeply flawed cyber charter funding system. Currently, school districts pay wildly different tuition rates – ranging from $6,975 to $25,150 per regular education student – for identical online education services. This makes no logical sense and wastes precious educational resources. By implementing reasonable funding reforms, we could redirect approximately $300 million back to our schools for classroom instruction.