To: The Pennsylvania State House, The Pennsylvania State Senate, and Governor Tom Wolf
Pennsylvania Education for the 21st Century
Raise the state share of public education so that no district in the state will have to raise more than 30% of total revenue from property or other local taxes. Raise sufficient total education funding so that all pre-elementary, elementary, and secondary public schools have sufficient funds to support regular art and music classes in the curriculum, along with a full array of special education and advanced placement courses, and so that no classroom for any subject will have a student to teacher ratio greater than 15 to one.
Why is this important?
Pennsylvania's public education system has been declining for most of the past 30 years due to many of the problems afflicting public education throughout the United States. Too many students' academic performance declines until they either fail to graduate high school, or graduate unprepared for further education or a career.
Pennsylvania's funding formula for public education during this same 30 years has reduced the state share and increased the local share to the point where the inequities between districts with high tax bases and those with low tax bases are egregious, and render it nearly impossible for low-income school districts to close the achievement gap with better-off districts.
While Governor Wolf has made education funding a priority, it is important to spell out some specifics without which merely increasing overall funding may not be sufficient to address the breadth of the problems we face.
Pennsylvania's funding formula for public education during this same 30 years has reduced the state share and increased the local share to the point where the inequities between districts with high tax bases and those with low tax bases are egregious, and render it nearly impossible for low-income school districts to close the achievement gap with better-off districts.
While Governor Wolf has made education funding a priority, it is important to spell out some specifics without which merely increasing overall funding may not be sufficient to address the breadth of the problems we face.