Put Heat on Your Lawmakers to Pass a Budget that Funds Our Schools

Budget talks are stalled in Harrisburg. Last week, Governor Wolf kept his promise to fight for fair funding for PA’s public schools and vetoed the Republican budget that would have continued to underfund PA’s schools. We need lawmakers to work on a bi-partisan budget to restore funding to schools and move a funding formula forward.

Right now, state lawmakers are home in their districts enjoying their summer breaks while school districts are stuck not knowing if they will have the necessary state funding to pay for the programs and services our children will need in the fall.  

Action step #1 — 10 minutes! This is not a time for us to be quiet. Can you take 10 minutes to help us push for progress? We need letters to the editor in local papers showing public support for schools, so lawmakers can’t fly under the radar.

We need parents and community members to help get the issue of education funding and the state budget into local papers so that lawmakers feel heat and get back to Harrisburg to work on a budget that will fund our schools this year. 

Are you willing to sign a letter to the editor in your local paper urging your state lawmakers to get to work on a budget that will fund our schools? Click HERE for a tool that makes it very easy for you to write and submit a letter to the editor it to your local papers. Or, if you’d prefer, please contact me via email sspicka@educationvoterspa.org or phone at 717-331-4033 and we can work on something together.

If you have 5 more minutes – Action step #2: If you haven’t already called or emailed your lawmaker, now is the time. Click HERE to email and call your state lawmakers. Our goal is for every lawmaker to get at least a dozen voter contacts this week–you can be one of these twelve!. 

If you have 5 more minutes: lawmakers have been busy moving bad legislation in Harrisburg. Senate Bill 6, the state takover/charter school conversion bill passed out of the Senate with a vote of 27 to 22. A companion bill, HB 1255 is now in the House and we need to share our concerns with House members. As more time goes by, however, more concerns are raised,such as the concerns voiced in this op-ed. 

Thank you for taking a few minutes out of your summer to take action to support our public schools. Lawmakers shouldn’t get enjoy their summer break at home until they finish their job in Harrisburg and pass a fair budget for public schools.