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PA school districts are still waiting for funding solutions months after landmark court ruling
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette link: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2023/09/08/pennsylvania-school-funding-court-ruling/stories/202309080069
Megan Van Fossan knows exactly how she would spend additional state dollars to support students and staff in the Sto-Rox School District [in Allegheny County.] Roofs on each of the school buildings would be replaced. Additional staff would be hired to provide services to students and hardworking teachers would see pay raises to at least match the salaries offered at nearby districts.
But as Sto-Rox’s superintendent, Ms. Van Fossan knows those essential items that for some districts are everyday payments will stay on her dream list while Pennsylvania’s education funding system remains unequal despite being ruled unconstitutional in February.
- snip -
School districts across the region are frustrated after they began the new school year in limbo as lawmakers made little movement over the past seven months to fix the state’s funding formula, which relies heavily on property taxes creating per-student funding gaps between wealthier and poorer districts.
That means 21 out of Allegheny County’s 43 districts that are considered to be underfunded began their school years in buildings in need of repairs and without being able to offer services such as reading and math specialists and mental health professionals. And this year, districts across the state were forced to shutter days after first welcoming students back because of a lack of air conditioning as heat advisories were issued across Pennsylvania.
But as Sto-Rox’s superintendent, Ms. Van Fossan knows those essential items that for some districts are everyday payments will stay on her dream list while Pennsylvania’s education funding system remains unequal despite being ruled unconstitutional in February.
- snip -
School districts across the region are frustrated after they began the new school year in limbo as lawmakers made little movement over the past seven months to fix the state’s funding formula, which relies heavily on property taxes creating per-student funding gaps between wealthier and poorer districts.
That means 21 out of Allegheny County’s 43 districts that are considered to be underfunded began their school years in buildings in need of repairs and without being able to offer services such as reading and math specialists and mental health professionals. And this year, districts across the state were forced to shutter days after first welcoming students back because of a lack of air conditioning as heat advisories were issued across Pennsylvania.
- more at link -
It's frustrating that these schools are receiving no interim help or funding, and it's going to take years to sort out this mess from the February Supreme Court ruling. The State is no longer allowed to fund our public schools from property taxes, and yet we're still being charged the property taxes. Where is the property tax money going, if it's not being used to fund the schools?
