(The Center Square) – William Penn School District led the charge of school districts, parents, and community organizations in a legal battle for education funding that lasted nearly a decade.
Thursday, House Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Philadelphhia, met administrators and other elected officials at Penn Wood 9th Grade Academy to talk about the investments made in the district and education across the state.
“Notwithstanding all the walls we ran into in Harrisburg, called the Senate Republican Caucus, we have continued to fight every year since our chamber has flipped,” said McClinton. “Every year since we have been in leadership, you have seen more tax dollars finally returning to the William Penn School District.”
In particular, McClinton celebrated $500,000 toward elevator improvements at Bell Avenue Elementary, $2 million to replace Penn Wood Middle School and $500,000 toward solar panels at Park Lane Elementary School. She also referenced millions put toward the district’s Rap Curry Athletic Complex, a $14.6 million project partially funded through a Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant.
Superintendent Dr. William Becoats said that the infusion of funding including adjustments made through the state’s updated basic education funding formula have led to a “pattern of academic growth” throughout the district. He noted that both teacher and student performance has surpassed expectations for growth in recent years. He pointed to robust staffing and student support for the success but said that funding delays last year forced them to eliminate some positions.
Nevertheless, Becoats warned that the work is far from over. He said it’s capital funding that will be required to address many of the district’s challenges.
“Our students need stability, not stop gaps,” said the superintendent. “There are no shortcuts in education. Our facilities tell the same story. Just this week, we had to dismiss Penn Wood High School students early due to a heating issue, and the following day, we had to shift to virtual instructions, and we’re still waiting for those repairs. These disruptions are the result of aging infrastructure and temporary fixes.”
Across the commonwealth, many districts lack the funding necessary to make repairs. In Philadelphia, assessments are underway in a five year plan, but funding for repairs remains elusive. All districts lack a clear process for doing what’s necessary per the legislature.
Insurmountable structural problems sank Pennsylvania’s old program, PlanCon, where districts spent a decade in line waiting for grants to fund new buildings or extensive renovations. There was also no focus on maintenance for HVAC repairs, roof replacement, and other smaller projects that could extend the lives of existing facilities. PlanCon 2.0 already exists in state law, but has never been funded.
House Appropriations Chair Rep. Jordan Harris, D-Philadelphia, spoke to the legislature’s role in adequately funding schools.
“We tell all of you young people, ‘If you go to school, you do this, you’ll have this beautiful life, and you’ll be able to do all these things,’” said Harris. “But the truth is, for years, folks have been saying that, but leaders in Harrisburg have not been delivering the resources necessary. People say that education is the elevator out of poverty, but you can’t do that if you continue to give children broken elevators.”
Harris asserted that the state’s investments put “less pressure on the local tax base,” a reality of the state’s longstanding funding model which put most of the burden on local property taxes to fund schools.
Senate Republicans have argued that while taxes may not be going up this year to pay for education increases, the state is operating on a structural deficit that will eventually lead to an actual deficit in its coffers. They’ve also questioned the efficacy of funding in a system some believe is too broken to repair, or at least too broken to repair in time for current students to benefit. Within the public system, they pushed for and saw the implementation of structured literacy programs in the state curriculum. Outside of it, they’ve pushed for school choice funding that would put tax payer dollars toward private alternatives.
