NEWS
Tell lawmakers to fund our schools
Pennsylvania’s school funding crisis is an urgent problem that must be addressed this year. Our children get only one opportunity to receive the education that they will need to be successful students in school today and productive citizens in the Commonwealth...
We have a formula (great news)! Now what?
On Wednesday, the Pennsylvania Legislature voted to permanently adopt the fair funding formula that we supported along with our allies from the Campaign for Fair Education Funding. Governor Wolf has said he will sign this into law. This is excellent news and we have...
How much do PA schools need to properly educate all children?
Pennsylvania did a good thing when it adopted the bi-partisan Basic Education Funding Commission’s (BEFC's) fair funding formula for sending new state funding to school districts. It is long past time that the era of backroom deals that delivered new funding to...
HB 805: Lawmakers should focus on adequately funding our schools, not making it easier to cut teachers from our children’s classrooms
Susan Spicka, Director of Education Voters of PA made the following statement about HB 805: Supporters of HB 805 call this bill the "Protect Excellent Teachers Act,” but, in fact, this bill does not protect our teachers. Instead, this bill creates a mechanism that...
One Win, Many Losses and Finally A Finished State Budget
On Friday last week, Governor Wolf announced that the Fiscal Code, the final piece of budget legislation for 2015-2016, would become law without his signature. This brings the 2015-2016 budget to a close. The Win The Fiscal Code contains language that distributes new...
Look who supports the school funding lawsuit & learn how you can support it, too!
UPDATE: April 20, 2016--Oral argument will not be heard in May. It will be heard later in the year. The PA Supreme Court will hear argument for the school funding lawsuit this year, perhaps as early as in May. Throughout Pennsylvania, our schools have not received...
End Harrisburg’s School Funding Hunger Games
Over the past five years, Harrisburg has mastered the art of pitting school districts, parents, and students against each other in order to draw attention away from the damage their policies and the lack of adequate state education funding have inflicted on children,...
FAQs about the $75 million CUT in the 2015-2016 Republican budget
FAQs about the $75 million CUT in state funding to schools in the 2015-2016 Republican budget **Need a PDF Version of this post? Click Here to get it!** In the 2015-2016 Republican budget, many members of the General Assembly failed to deliver state funding owed to...
Education Voters of PA’s reaction to Governor Wolf’s decision to allow HB 1801 to become law without his signature
For Immediate Release 3/23/2016 Education Voters of PA’s reaction to Governor Wolf’s decision to allow HB 1801 to become law without his signature Susan Spicka, Director of Education Voters of PA, issued the following statement regarding Governor Wolf’s decision to...
Education Voters of PA’s Statement on HB 1801, the Supplemental Appropriation Bill
For Immediate Release 3/16/2016 Education Voters of PA's Statement on HB 1801 Susan Spicka, Director of Education Voters of PA, made the following statement about HB 1801, “We are disappointed that Republican leadership is moving yet another irresponsible, unbalanced...
Join the Call to Action–it’s time to end the gridlock and fund our schools!
Tuesday, March 8, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees held hearings on the education funding request for the 2016-2017 state budget--without having a full education budget for 2015-2016 in place! We are working with our allies from the Campaign for Fair...
Enough is Enough. The Courts Must Intervene.
What is happening with the school funding lawsuit? On November 10, 2014, six school districts, the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools, the NAACP – PA State Conference, and families whose children attend under-funded and under-resourced schools filed a...
PA Must Do Its Share to Fund Schools
We Want to Hear From You!
Over the past months, we have asked you to make your voices heard regarding the Pennsylvania budget and the importance of adequate, fair state funding for public schools. Now, we would like you to tell us how we can best support your interest in public education...
How can we get a fair budget for children?
Budgets are about priorities and we are very encouraged that making progress on fixing Pennsylvania’s inequitable and inadequate state funding system remains a top priority for Governor Wolf, in spite of the stiff resistance he has met from many lawmakers in...
Our Response to Governor Wolf’s Budget Address
Susan Spicka, Advocacy Coordinator for Education Voters of PA, issued the following statement regarding Governor Wolf’s budget address: Budgets are about priorities. We are very encouraged that making progress on fixing Pennsylvania’s inequitable and inadequate state...
Education Voters of PA’s reaction to Governor Wolf’s proposed Basic Education Funding increase in the 2016-2017 budget
Susan Spicka, Advocacy Coordinator for Education Voters of PA, issued the following statement regarding Governor Wolf’s Basic Education Funding increase in the 2016-2017 budget: “We are heartened to see that Governor Wolf is planning to continue to make progress on...
Money Matters: How increased supports improve education
Money Matters. The reality is that money matters. Targeted funding directed at instructional practices that are supported by evidence can have dramatic impacts. Money impacts class size, which matters, especially in the early grades. Giving teachers smaller...
Still. No. Budget. Still.
As of now, there is little to no movement to finally enact a real budget for FY 2016, even as we are on the verge of opening the discussion for the new budget cycle. Sigh. What we know In December, legislative leadership decided to jam through its own budget,...
Now What?
Governor Wolf line-item vetoed the budget that state lawmakers sent him before leaving for their holiday break, authorizing emergency funding to go out to school districts, human service agencies and counties, which had been held up by the House leaders failing to...