Feb 10, 2024 5 min read

By Gary Stout

In 2023, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court issued its long-awaited opinion that found our state’s system of public education to be unconstitutional.

In a 786-page opinion, the court held that the state had not adequately funded schools in poor communities, failing in its constitutional obligation to educate young people. Shortly thereafter, Pennsylvania’s General Assembly began its work to recommend a more equitable method for distributing state funds to public schools.

A 15-member commission was formed to determine how to bring into compliance the formula that distributes state aid to Pennsylvania’s school districts. On Jan. 11, the commission issued its report. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “The report calls for an increase of $200 million in basic education funding — currently set at about $7.8 billion — in each of the next few years. Separately, it supports major “adequacy” investments that would gradually increase annual spending statewide over a seven-year period by a total of $5.4 billion.”

The Washington School District (WSD) is a small, urban district where 82% of the students are considered economically disadvantaged. I recently sat down with Superintendent George Lammay, to ask how the court opinion and commission findings could make a difference.

Lammay pointed me toward an insider’s view recently published by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA). The association reveals that only about 37% of Pennsylvania education revenues come from the state, one of the lowest in the nation. However, in addressing the question of inequality in education, the PSBA makes a point that Lammay returned to repeatedly, “When we look at school districts individually, we see a very diverse picture.”

Clearly, a cookie cutter approach that only compares the “haves” to the “have nots” is not the answer. The final funding formula should also reward or at least not harm positive district performances and forward-looking budgetary decisions under the existing system.

Lammay agrees with the PSBA that three factors have the greatest negative impact on public school budgets: pensions; charter/cyber school tuition; and special education. The PSBA determined, “The costs for these three items has increased by $6.2 billion over the last decade while the state revenue to address these mandated costs has only increased by $2.2 billion.”

Lammay echoed PSBA in suggesting new funding solutions for all three mandates that are decimating school district budgets. First, because pension obligations are part of a relatively uniform system across the commonwealth, the Legislature should act quickly to authorize an increase in state funds to pay for them.

Second, the mandate that provides for charter schools, particularly cyber schools, is broken and should be revised. Any family can choose to have a student receive all instruction online, at home and free-of-charge from private companies that provide this service. The cost is paid for out of per-pupil funds from the local district’s budget.

A study of cyber schools in Pennsylvania conducted by the Brookings Institution found that “cyber school students tend to score lower on year-end tests. In Pennsylvania there is evidence of knowledge loss (negative growth scores) from fourth-to-eighth grade among many cyber students.”

Cyber schools have also been a disaster for local school budgets. The $1.5 million annual expense for the Washington School District leaves it with tough choices on where to cut programs.

According to the PSBA, “The 26-year-old funding mechanism for charter schools, particularly when it comes to cyber charter school tuition, results in districts overpaying. The formula is based on the district’s expenses and bears no relationship to the cyber school’s costs.”

Third, is the mandated costs for special education students. Similar to cyber schools, the payment structure is based on individual school expenses rather than the cost to provide the services and should be reformed. Lammay points out that overall in the Washington School District, 30% of the students have a variety of special needs where the expenses per child are much greater than for a regular student.

Returning to the PSBA’s published views on funding public education, there are a number of factors that would have less impact but the Legislature should consider:

-Mental health and school safety must be a primary funding consideration.

-There are hundreds of smaller, unfunded legislative mandates that, taken as a whole, are expensive and place undue pressure on school districts to perform. Many of these mandates should be scaled back so that resources can be reallocated without appropriating more funds.

-The existing “hold harmless” policy is a financing mechanism that ensures school districts do not receive less funding than the previous year. If this provision is eliminated under the new formula, it should be done gradually.

-School infrastructure should receive special consideration so that districts are not forced to choose between maintaining buildings and educating students.

-The Legislature should not mandate district mergers. Sharing of services could be a better solution to save money.

While the Washington School District welcomes a fair funding formula, the superintendent does not believe that the district is a candidate for a merger. Washington’s long history of meeting the needs of students from diverse backgrounds and of outstanding community support deserve to be continued as a stand-alone district.

When the new funding formula is adopted, Lammay is confident that the district will continue to hold its own for years to come.

Gary Stout is a Washington attorney.