Study: Pennsylvania public schools underfunded by $6.2 billion

Pennsylvania needs to increase its investment in public schools by $6.2 billion to help students meet graduation rate goals and proficiency on state exams, according to a school finance expert.

Penn State assistant professor Matthew Kelly told a panel of policymakers the figure was his conservative estimate of what was needed to address chronic underfunding that led to a landmark court ruling earlier this year.

The Basic Education Funding Commission is tasked with taking a fresh look at the school funding formula in the wake of the court decision that found the school funding formula was unconstitutional and charging the state to provide for an adequate and equitable funding system.

The commission held the first of 10 hearings on Tuesday in Allentown. Along with Kelly, the bipartisan panel with members of the Senate and House, heard from three school superintendents and two student health experts.

Co-chair Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-York County, stressed the need for commission members to listen and be open-minded as the commission works to craft a well thought-out recommendation for lawmakers “that ensures that the system put in place by the General Assembly can appropriately serve the needs of our students.”

Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster County, the other co-chair, stressed the need to focus on the court’s ruling to ensure they reach “a constitutional resolution of how we fund education.”

Kelly, who testified before the Commonwealth Court in the school funding lawsuit, looked at current state spending levels and compared them to what he determined was needed for students to meet the state’s performance goals.

Kelly said 412 of the state’s 500 school districts located in 64 counties and educating 83% of the state’s students currently spend less than the adequacy target his study identified. It found the median shortfall per student across the districts was $2,572 and about half of the districts had a shortfall greater than $2,000 per student.

“While I’ve been addressing the importance of adequacy, I must also observe that addressing these adequacy shortfalls will significantly address equity issues identified by the court,” Kelly said.

Among the items he mentioned excluded from his adequacy funding gap calculations are funding for preschool, facility upgrades, higher costs of living in different areas of the state and any changes to the state’s policy goals that increase districts costs.

The state has set a goal of having a 92.4% graduation rate by 2033. Its other goals to be achieved within the next decade include having seven to eight in 10 students performing at grade level in reading, math and science and a 70.3% English language proficiency rate for students.

Phillips-Hill asked Kelly about the growth in the funding shortfall since the $4.6 billion he testified to two years ago. He said that earlier figure was based on policy goals in place in 2007 that have since changed and didn’t include costs that his latest estimate does such as special education and the pensions.

Senate Education Committee Chairman David Argall, R-Schuylkill County, said the significant increases in basic education funding particularly the historic amounts invested over the past two years have not produced the results many had hoped for.

“If we were to follow your recommendation for an additional $6 billion, which would be by far the largest tax increase in the history of Pennsylvania, how could you guarantee that this time, we’ll see the results that we would all desire?” Argall said.

Kelly responded: “The research is clear. It’s unambiguous. We know that money matters for student outcomes and that when we increase spending, we will increase outcomes for students.”

“We all agree on the goal,” Argall said, “Just based on our past experiences, I’m not sure how we’re going to get there.”

Rep. Jesse Topper, R-Bedford County, asked if all the money for basic education was run through the funding formula enacted in 2016, instead of just the new money – which is far less than 20% of the $7.9 billion the state currently provides – would that lower the amount needed to cover the adequacy gap. Kelly said the amount of money needed would still need to grow.

Other lawmakers and three superintendents who spoke to the panel stressed the need for state funding to help address school facility needs with Allentown Superintendent Carol Birks noting a school in her district has been in continuous use for 149 years.

“it’s detrimental what is happening to the children of Allentown,” Birks told the commission. “I truly believe that the Allentown School District can become one of the highest school districts in the state of Pennsylvania. I believe that but I can’t do it without you, without your help.”

She as well as superintendents from Bethlehem and Salisbury school districts spoke of the challenge in providing students with a 21st century education in outdated facilities. Bethlehem’s Jack Silva also asked lawmakers to reinstate funding the state used to provide for dual enrollment programs as well as charter school tuition reimbursements.

Salisbury’s Lynn Fueini-Hetten, among other requests, asked for consideration to be given to districts with high percentages of tax-exempt properties.

Lawmakers also brought up areas of personal interest they would like to see the commission consider. Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia, asked that consideration be given to the students who endured decades of school underfunding. Phillips-Hill shared her desire to see the local tax structure that generates funding for schools change and Topper said he wanted districts to consolidate or enter into shared service arrangements to lower their need for funding.

The commission continues its work on Wednesday with a 9 a.m. hearing in Harrisburg followed by a hearing Thursday in Philadelphia. The commission meetings are livestreamed here. The public can submit comments here.