HARRISBURG, PA — A legislative commission has recommended infusing more than $9 billion of additional funding into Pennsylvania’s public education system over the next seven years. The recommendation comes after last year’s landmark decision from a Commonwealth Court judge that PA schools are unconstitutionally underfunded.

Mixed reactions

Tasked with reviewing how the state distributes funding to schools, the Basic Education Funding Commission’s (BEFC) report passed 8-7, nearly along party lines. All but one Democrat and members of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration voted in favor, and all of the Republicans on the commission voted against. Sen. Lindsey Williams was the only Democrat to vote against the report, saying that it didn’t go far enough.

According to the commission’s calculations, the commonwealth’s public schools are currently facing a spending gap of about $5.4 billion. The state should cover $5.1 billion of that, the report said, leaving “low tax-effort school districts” to cover the remaining $291 million.

Advocates who represented underfunded districts in the recent court case argue that the gap is even wider, north of $6 billion. They base that figure on the analysis of Penn State professor Matthew Kelly, who testified in the trial.

In a press conference following the commission’s vote, members of the PA Schools Work Coalition, a non-partisan campaign for equitable funding, said they were hoping for a higher number. However, they called on the governor to begin making the recommended investments immediately.

“Unequivocally, the report is a significant step toward repairing the state’s broken and unconstitutional public funding system and creating a state where every family can see a pathway of opportunity for their child,” said Donna Cooper, executive director of Children First. “We fully expect the governor to use this report as the basis of the year-one investments we hope he will make in public education.”

On the flip side, Republicans on the commission had lobbied for a more conservative report which did not place a specific figure on the level of underfunding poorer districts are facing. Instead, their report recommended changing the funding formula and included perennial Republican priorities such as school voucher funding. Also known as “lifeline scholarships,” vouchers are taxpayer-funded scholarships that parents can use to defray the cost of sending their children to non-public schools, such as private, religious and cyber schools.

“Obviously, the intent is to build up the public school system to the best of our ability,” said commission co-chair and Republican Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill. “Until such time, students that are in low-performing schools that are low-income need to have the option to move to a school that meets their needs and is high performing.”

The governor met with the BEFC and promised that the report will inform his upcoming budget proposal in February.

“I look forward to addressing these points when I deliver my budget to the legislature in a few weeks, and to continue working with leaders in both parties in order to deliver a thorough and efficient public education for students across our commonwealth,” Shapiro said. “As I said in my first budget address, we must approach this responsibility with hope and ambition, because this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to do right by our kids, to fund our schools and to empower parents to put their kids in the best position for them to succeed.”

What the report recommends

If adopted, the report would provide more than $1 billion in additional funding to school districts statewide in the next school year.

“All school districts are going to receive—if enacted—an increase in this proposal,” said Sharon Ward, senior policy adviser of the Education Law Center—which represented underfunded school districts in last year’s trial.

Here are the eight key recommendations the BEFC’s report made:

“Reduce the volatility” and “restore the balance” in the state’s basic education funding formula, using Census Bureau data. To assist with rising costs each year, the state should also add at least $200 million to the funding formula every year.

Set adequacy benchmarks. The report says to use standardized testing to determine which Pennsylvania districts are succeeding, find out how much those successful schools are spending, and make that the spending target for all districts.

Invest more state money in school facilities, especially in urban districts.

“Examine” how charter schools are funded. In the school funding trial, “testifying districts identified charter school costs—which grow each year as school districts’ expenditures grow—as one of the primary drivers that lead to increased property taxes.”

Invest in the teacher workforce so that schools can offer more competitive salaries.

Invest in student supports like mental health services, grade-level literacy programs and healthy meals.

Reconvene the BECF in 2029 to revisit the issues being addressed now. The report warns not to declare anything a success or failure too quickly, as “the appropriate horizon for evaluating the impact of adequate funding is a generation of students.”

Other important education issues need to be considered, including pre-K, transportation, school libraries, and career and technical education.

The Shapiro administration will release its budget proposal in February, which is sure to be followed by a period of debate, negotiation and compromise by the split General Assembly before students and parents can know what to expect for their school district.