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Advocates say the $526 million that Gov. Josh Shapiro has proposed in his 2025-2026 budget to address the chronic underfunding of Pennsylvania’s most disadvantaged districts is a much-needed down payment in addressing decades of neglect.
The funding is a consequence of a 2023 ruling by the Commonwealth Court that the state’s education funding formula was unconstitutional. The Basic Education Commission calculated that the amount of underfunding was $4.5 billion.
The governor’s 2024-2025 budget included $1.1 billion for public education, with $494 million explicitly identified to address the funding disparity (what’s called “adequacy funding”) and directed to 300 school districts that needed it the most.
“It was a budget that began to address the judge’s decision,” said Deborah Gordon Klehr, executive director of the Education Law Center in Philadelphia (ELC). “It recognized an adequacy gap, calculated it and calculated the state’s share at $4.5 billion and allocated $500 million towards filling that gap. We called it a start — that’s 11% of the state’s share needed to provide an adequate education to students.”
Meanwhile, some Republican legislators have argued for more transparency in spending public education dollars.
In May, state Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-46th District, introduced House Bill 1448, which would create a Financial Transparency Data and Reporting System for education spending that would allow legislators, school officials and state agencies to track how funds are spent and whether it is useful for students.
Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for Shapiro, said the governor is seeking compromise.
“The governor has made it clear repeatedly he is focused on working together with leaders in both parties and both chambers to deliver a budget that delivers for families all across Pennsylvania,” Bonder said. “At the center of that, of course, is funding for education — funding for our schools.”