ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown School District would get $189.5 million in state funding over the next seven years under the report approved Thursday by the state Basic Education Funding Commission.
The report, passed by an 8-7 vote, found the state was underfunding poorer school districts by more than $5.4 billion.
The report contains only recommendations and does not require Gov. Josh Shapiro or Pennsylvania's politically divided Legislature to act.
The report differs somewhat from what districts in a landmark court case wanted from the state. Lawyers for the school districts in that case proposed a $6.2 billion increase in state aid to be phased in over five years.
Public Interest Law Center Senior Attorney Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, who helped try the court case, said the majority report identified adequacy gaps for schools districts broken down by categories and phased in through seven years. The report recommended allocating a seventh of a district's share of its state shortfall of per student spending, property tax relief, $200 million added to the fair funding formula and $300 million for school facilities.
"It is a big first step," he said. "No report is perfect and there are some unaddressed issues, but the vision it lays out for the Commonwealth is a transformative one."
The 15 commission members produced two reports, showing divisions between the two parties. A Republican report was defeated on party lines during the meeting in a Capitol hearing room Thursday.
‘Starting point' for budget debate
State Sen. Nick Miller, D-Lehigh, said the majority report is just the beginning.
"The other report did not put a specific dollar amount on the adequacy gap; the majority report did at $5.4 billion," Miller said.
"And that's a starting point for our budget negotiations going into the spring into June."
Miller said the adequacy funding would eliminate the need for Level Up funding, which is allocated to the state's 100 poorest school districts.
Allentown and Bethlehem Area schools both are eligible for Level Up funding. BASD would get $53.89 million over the next seven years.State Basic Education Funding Commission
Allentown and Bethlehem Area schools both are eligible for Level Up funding.
The $100 million in new funding proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro in this year's state budget failed to muster support to pass amidst a battle over school vouchers.
Under the majority report, BASD would get $53.89 million over the next seven years. BASD Schools Superintendent Jack Silva said he was encouraged by the majority report.
"The Commission seems to understand the significance and the severity of the underfunding of particularly higher needs school districts, which tend to be city and rural school districts, including the Bethlehem Area School District," he said. "They've seemed to identify some areas that are really important, like school construction, reading instruction, details of student support services."
State Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-Allegheny, voted no on the majority report, saying in a statement that lawmakers needed to provide a more aggressive timeline to remedy the unconstitutional public school system.
‘Adequacy, equity and stability'
Democrats hope the report at least provides a blueprint for this year’s budget, and for budgets every year after that.
"It means more books, better technology, and more teachers into the classrooms."House Education Committee Chair Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh
“Today’s report that was approved by the majority of BEFC meeting would provide adequacy, equity and stability for all our school districts," House Education Committee Chairman Peter Schweyer, D-Lehigh, said in a statement.
"It means more books, better technology and more teachers into the classrooms. It also means new school buildings and renovated classrooms."
In a statement, House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, criticized the report as containing a “funding-only approach” to fix inadequacies in Pennsylvania's system of school funding.
“It is clearer than ever that money alone is not the answer, and it is equally clear that the partisan report approved by Democrats on the Basic Education Funding Commission is endemic of a system captured in the sad cycle of its own failings," he said in a statement.
The commission was required by law to meet to provide recommendations to lawmakers on how to update a formula that is supposed to guide how roughly $8 billion in state aid is distributed to Pennsylvania's 500 school districts.
This report will be updated, and The Associated Press contributed to it.
