LEVEL UP SCHOOL FUNDING

It’s time to Level Up school funding in Pennsylvania!

Every child in Pennsylvania deserves robust course choices, class sizes that allow for personalized support, enough school counselors and nurses, and a safe learning environment so they can thrive and succeed in school today and live productive, fulfilling lives after graduation.

But in Pennsylvania this does not happen.

The problem

• Pennsylvania ranks 45th in the nation for state share of funding for K-12 education.
• At least $4.6 billion of additional funding is needed to meet the needs of all students
• Only 11% of overall spending is distributed through the weighted BEF formula; students in districts with the greatest needs are deeply shortchanged.
• Low-wealth communities cannot raise enough money at the local level, even with a very high local tax effort.

The Consequences

• Thousands of students must attend schools that lack the resources needed to ensure that they can succeed.
• An entire generation of children is at risk of not being prepared for the challenges and demands of tomorrow.
• Students of color, students living in poverty, students with disabilities, and English learners are disproportionately affected.

The Solution

• A Level Up supplement fund will accelerate the path to adequacy and equity for the 20% of districts that are most underfunded.
• The allocation will be distributed through the weighted BEF formula to just the 100 identified districts and that allocation would become part of their base BEF.
• We are proposing to have the Level Up supplement enacted into law and for $100 million to initially run through it in 2021-22.
• This funding would be separate from and additional to the regular BEF funding districts receive.