school-funding

Funding the 500: A landmark school funding case put K-12 spending on trial

BY: - June 19, 2023

Advocates and educators expect a significant downpayment on education, and they’re waiting to see how officials begin to fix the existing funding system while making workforce investments amid a worsening educator staffing crisis across 500 public school districts

COMMENTARY

Want to end the teacher exodus? It starts with a little respect | Lloyd E. Sheaffer

BY: - March 30, 2023

Turning teachers into automatons controlled by political entities far outside the classroom is not an attitude of respect for the individuals or for the learning process.

Gov. Josh Shapiro addresses a joint session of the state House and Senate on Tuesday, 3/7/23 (Photo by Amanda Mustard, for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star).

Shapiro touts proposed K-12 spending as ‘a real downpayment on the future of education’

BY: - March 15, 2023

“This is a great moment of opportunity for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to both believe in the new generation and invest in them,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said Wednesday.

Pa. advocates push for new Level Up funds ahead of 2023-24 budget negotiations

BY: and - March 14, 2023

Still, some advocates worry the governor’s spending plan — which ends the Level Up special funding program that prioritizes the state’s 100 poorest school districts — doesn’t go far enough to meet the constitutional mandate for a “thorough and efficient” education.

COMMENTARY
Students, families, and education advocates join Children First and Education Voters of Pennsylvania to host a rally on the Capitol steps to “ring the bells of justice,” and call for equitable funding for Pennsylvania public schools. The rally, which took place Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, occurred on the first day of the landmark trial that could change how Pennsylvania funds its 500 school districts. (Capital-Star photo by Marley Parish)

The next step in school funding: A rural-urban coalition to achieve educational equity | Opinion

BY: - March 3, 2023

Educational equity and justice will require more than a historical court ruling. It will require legislative action.

Higher salaries, more respect: Report offers path to solving teacher shortage | Friday Coffee

BY: - October 14, 2022

The NEA report '[lays] out a multiyear strategy to recruit and retain highly qualified educators,' PSEA President Rich Askey said.

In a full day of proceedings, Pa. court hears closing arguments in school funding trial

BY: - March 10, 2022

Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer is now tasked with a ruling in the case, which focuses on the General Assembly’s constitutional mandate to provide a “thorough and efficient” education system.

‘Do right by our children or find new jobs’: Education advocates call for fair school funding

BY: - November 17, 2021

“For school districts all across the state of Pennsylvania, it’s not already raining — it’s a doggone hurricane,” the Rev. Dwayne Royster, the executive director of POWER Interfaith, a grassroots organization of state congregations, told more than 100 demonstrators holding handmade signs.

Students, families, and education advocates join Children First and Education Voters of Pennsylvania to host a rally on the Capitol steps to “ring the bells of justice,” and call for equitable funding for Pennsylvania public schools. The rally, which took place Friday, Nov. 12, 2021, occurred on the first day of the landmark trial that could change how Pennsylvania funds its 500 school districts. (Capital-Star photo by Marley Parish)

Lawsuit over Pa. school funding goes to trial, witness testimony begins next week

BY: - November 12, 2021

The trial is expected to run through January and could change how Pennsylvania public schools are funded.

COMMENTARY

All you need to know about school funding inequities in Pa. | Editorial Cartoon

BY: - May 15, 2021

Charter school enrollment shot up during the pandemic, punching a hole in school districts' budgets.

COMMENTARY

Pa.’s long journey to fair school funding | Editorial Cartoon

BY: - February 20, 2021

Gov. Tom Wolf has proposed a $1.35B infusion for public education, driven out through the state's fair funding formula.

COMMENTARY

A western Pennsylvania school district ran out of paper. That’s everything you need to know about school funding in Pa. | Analysis

BY: - February 18, 2020

Yes. People stepped up to help. But this isn't a feel-good story. It's a giant red flag on the inequities in school funding in Pennsylvania.