Public school students in Pennsylvania won a landmark victory in February of 2023 when Commonwealth Court handed down a decision declaring that our current system for funding public schools is unconstitutional.
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a public school funding system that allocates resources based on what students need to reach their potential—not what their local communities can afford or what the PA legislature feels like allocating.
And we need your help!
Unfortunately, some state lawmakers would like to ignore the court’s decision.
We cannot let them continue to underfund our public schools, in violation of the state constitution.
We are asking advocates to help mobilize our school boards, PTOs and PTAs, municipal groups, and community organizations to come out in public support of an improved, meaningful budget proposal that commits to fully and fairly funding our public schools.
Education Voters of PA has worked with partners to prepare a draft resolution that these local groups—such as school boards, borough councils, township boards of supervisors, and parent-teacher groups—can adopt. The resolution is specifically a statement in support of Governor Shapiro’s 2024-25 public education budget proposal and the long-term plan for adequate and equitable public school funding put forward by the majority of the Basic Education Funding Commission.
We’re asking our supporters to bring this resolution to organizations in their communities—get it on the agenda, propose a vote to pass it, and spread the word about its adoption. Passing this resolution is an effective way to raise awareness of the issue of inequitable school funding in PA. Even proposing the resolution at a public meeting will get people talking about the issue of unconstitutional public school funding in Pennsylvania.
Here are the tools you will need:
✅Frequently asked questions about passing a resolution
✅A step-by-step action plan for asking an organization to pass a resolution
If you’d like additional support, join us on Tuesday, April 23 at 7:00 pm for a short Zoom meeting where we can walk you through this whole process.
Keep in mind that any organization can propose and pass a resolution in support of constitutional public school funding – a community group, a PTO, a PTA, a home school association, a school board, a municipal organization such as a borough council, etc.—so think big.
Right now in Pennsylvania, the students who need the most support have the least, because of where they live. Working together, we can change this system and the trajectory of students’ lives–and you can be a part of this!
Thank you, as always, for all you do for public school students in Pennsylvania.
Susan Spicka, Executive Director, Education Voters of PA
