PA schools threaten court return if budget falls short on funding plan

• A Pennsylvania school that won a key school funding court case last year is ready to go to court again.
• Lawyers for the schools that filed the lawsuit are asking Congress to release a multiyear funding plan proposing an additional $2 billion.
• The proposal follows a court ruling last year that found the state's $35 billion school funding plan unconstitutional.

Poor schools that won a landmark school funding case in Pennsylvania last year say they're prepared to go to court again if the Legislature and governor don't adequately address funding shortfalls as a critical period approaches. 's lawyer announced on Thursday.

Pennsylvania's public schools are currently underfunded by about $6.2 billion, according to school lawyers and public education advocacy groups.

Lawyers for the schools that filed the lawsuit are asking Congress to announce a multiyear funding plan to address the shortfall and begin acting on it this year. They are proposing that lawmakers add $2 billion to the public education fund in this budget, which echoes unanswered calls from last year and then 2029-30 It is proposing an additional $1 billion per year for each of the next four years to address the shortfall through 2019.

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“We cannot accept plans that are politically expedient and fail our students,” said Deborah Gordon Clair, executive director of the Education Law Center, a nonprofit law group representing schools. Stated.

The proposal, filed Thursday, follows a court ruling last year that found the state's $35 billion school funding system is unconstitutional and shortchanges students from poorer ZIP codes.

This comes as the deadline approaches for the final report of a commission tasked with recommending how to update the formula for allocating state aid to Pennsylvania's 500 school districts.

The commission is made up of legislators and members of Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration. The committee's report will conclude two months of work and 11 public hearings.

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Shapiro acknowledged that the court's ruling will have a significant impact on the next budget, which is expected to be submitted in February. He has supported calls for equity in school funding, but has suggested in recent weeks that covering funding bills is a key consideration.

“That's a big number,” said Dan Jurevic-Ackersberg, a senior attorney at the Public Interest Law Center, who also represents the schools. “I'm not going to pretend this isn't a big number, but it's also a pressing issue.”

Lawyers for the school districts that filed the lawsuit again asked the judge to force Shapiro and lawmakers to better close funding gaps among school districts in the state if an allocation plan is not developed within a reasonable timeframe. He said he would ask for it.

Lawyers analyzed the spending of high-performing school districts based on Pennsylvania's goals, compared it to the state's estimated needs for school districts, and determined how much each district would have to spend to reflect the same success. I decided what to do. On average, school districts are short $2,500 per student.

Their proposal would find out how much funding is needed to meet the state's adequacy goals, determine how much funding is missing from each district, and create consistent projections for 2024-2025. Requires states to develop systems to allocate funds in any way possible. Year. They said the state should not rely on local tax dollars to fill the gap. Facilities and preschool funding should also be considered.

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“The court's decision in early 2023 changed the game,” said Susan Spica, executive director of Pennsylvania Education Voters. “Lawmakers and governors can no longer set the level of school funding based on how much they feel like investing each year, as they have in the past. There is a new standard they must meet. 'Education' is to ensure universal access to effective, modern and effective education. “

Public school advocates are more likely to find support for their plan in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives than in the Republican-controlled Senate. Most state senators have resisted spending billions of new dollars on public schools, instead pushing for more state funding to subsidize private schools.

Additionally, Mr. Shapiro invested heavily in public education in his first budget cycle, but not as much as public education advocates and other Democrats had hoped.

“Our governor has touted the extraordinary effort of the commonwealth and the city of Philadelphia to repair Interstate 95 in less than two weeks, and he and all stakeholders have the same determination and ambition to restore our schools. We urge you to stop funding litigation,” said Donna Cooper, executive director of Children First.