Written by Ginny Mazzei

Posted June 15, 2024

Tuesday’s (6-11-24) Press Enterprise carries a report about the proposal to invest in public education, HB 2370, that passed the Pennsylvania House on Monday. I say it is about time.

I am over 65 and understand the challenges of making ends meet when your household budget is no longer running on your employment income. I also know how important it is to my community that our younger generations receive the best education possible.

Investing in education ensures that our communities will thrive into the future.

Public schools are indispensable for providing access to a high quality education for every single child in every single borough, town and city within our state.

But right now, not every child has access to this fundamental necessity because the quality of a student’s education is determined by where you live.

This fact was recognized back in February 2023 by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court when it ruled that our state’s current funding of the education system is unconstitutional.

Pennsylvania ranks near the bottom (44th!) in terms of state share for funding K-12 public education.

When state funding is inadequate, school districts rely more heavily on local property taxes for funding. This hurts children and those on fixed incomes and weakens communities in general.

For many years, our Pennsylvania communities have paid higher local taxes and school districts have had to make deeper cuts because of inadequate state funding.

We have a unique opportunity to change this.

There is a $5.1 billion gap between what the state is spending on K-12 public schools and what students need.

With the proposal having now passed the PA House, our state senators in Harrisburg have a chance to end the underfunding via a proposed $1.8 billion increase for public schools this year, and a long term 7 year commitment to close the entire funding gap.

The proposed education budget will benefit just about every school district in Pennsylvania.

I strongly urge Senator Schlegel-Culver to support this proposal fully funding our local public schools.