Contact: John
Neurohr
717-364-6452 / jneurohr@shelly-lyons.com
Pennsylvania
Falls to 45th in the
Nation In State Funding for Public Education
Inadequate
state share of revenue to local districts put schools in difficult position
when attempting to balance budgets, pay for needed resources.
HARRISBURG, PA (May 26, 2021) – The U.S. Census
Bureau this week released the 2019 Public Elementary-Secondary Education
Finance Data that shows
Pennsylvania falling further behind in meeting the needs of Pennsylvania’s
students. The data tracks, among other things, revenue sources for local school
systems and spending on items like support services and overall per pupil
expenditures.
The data show that
Pennsylvania dropped from 44th to 45th in the share of district revenue that
comes from the state - 6th from the bottom. As
far as the overall percentage of revenue coming from the state,
Pennsylvania has dropped to 37.9%. Overall, the U.S. average is 47%
of revenue coming from the state to local school districts.
“The lack of
adequate subsidies from the state when it comes to funding for school districts
affects urban districts, suburban districts and rural districts alike,” said
Mark D DiRocco, Executive Director of the PA
Association of School Administrators. “While federal relief funds are being
used for one-time COVID costs, the state must provide enough funding for
ongoing costs to schools that will be with districts long after the federal
stimulus dollars are gone – including special education and career and
technical education. Our state legislators need to meet their responsibility
for ensuring all students have the resources they need to succeed. This latest
Census data shows that the state’s responsibility is far from being met.”
The new census data is available
here. (summary table 5)
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PA Schools Work is a non-partisan coalition
of organizations from across Pennsylvania representing teachers and other
educators; urban, suburban and rural communities; and parents and community
members working together to advocate for PA public schools, their
students and the communities they serve. For more information on PA Schools
Work, visit paschoolswork.org.