HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Policy Center says the state budget will not fix the  K-12 education funding system, which the Commonwealth Court has declared unconstitutional. 

PA Gov. Josh Shapiro and the General Assembly have had about 18 months to respond, the center says, adding that while the K-12 budget expected to be enacted soon recognizes the problem, it does not address it.

School districts need $4.5 billion in new funding to adequately and equitably fund schools, the policy center says. The general appropriation bill directs most new K-12 funding to the least well-funded districts but meets only slightly more than 10 percent of the total needed to address the issue comprehensively.

The Pennsylvania Policy Center is the state affiliate of the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, which focuses on fiscal issues and economic policy.

“House Speaker Joanna McClinton and Majority Leader Matt Bradford and the other leaders and members of the House and Senate Democratic caucuses have been champions for children in pushing for adequate education funding,” read the center’s response to the budget. “The Senate and House Republicans have never put forward a plan to meet their obligation under the Commonwealth Court decision and have rejected proposals to fund schools adequately and equitably.”

If Pennsylvania fails to fairly fund its schools, another generation will be denied their constitutional right to an adequate K-12 education, the center says.