HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — A state court has said Pennsylvania’s funding was unconstitutionally inequitable, which led to the creation of the Fair Funding Formula. The State House Appropriations hearings probed the topic today, as lawmakers clashed over whether the formula is helping fix disparities in education.
For several years, Pennsylvania has sent record amounts of money to public schools trying to fix the inequities. The formula steers more cash to schools deemed to have been most underfunded in the past.
Rural lawmakers now claim that their schools are getting little or no year-over-year increases, and are being unfairly penalized.
“We’re spending money the wrong way for our schools,” said Rep. Marla Brown (R-Lawrence). “We need more performance-based funding. Schools that are getting the most money, we often see that they continue to be underperforming schools, and again, the formula is not working the way it should.”
“We are only now beginning to right the inequities that have been built into the system for far too long,” said Rep. Kyle Mullins. “So give these kids, and give these schools the opportunity to show what they can do with better schools, better teachers, more opportunities for students.”
At nearly $20 billion, education is the second-largest line item in the state budget, as only human services, at $21 billion, receives more.
