Main Street

Stop the Spread of the Education Catastrophe in Pennsylvania

Last week, a federal judge ordered that the state of Pennsylvania release $3.2 million to fund the cash-strapped Chester Upland School District.

For the students, as well as the unionized teachers who worked for free for several weeks after the district ran out of money in early January, the trouble is far from over. That money will keep those schools running only until February 23, and the school board has sued the state for funding to take district through the end of the school year. Columnist Phil Heron rightly called it “a reprieve; not a pardon.”

It’s also increasingly clear that Chester Upland, which relies on state aid for 70 percent of its funding, might not be the last Pennsylvania school district to go bankrupt this year.

There’s this report out of Philadelphia:

City Controller Alan Butkovitz told new schools chief Thomas Knudsen in a letter Wednesday that he would including a warning to bond-rating agencies in his annual independent audit report unless the district offers plans to close a massive projected budget deficit by the end of June.

As well as this warning from Paul Gottlieb of the Pennsylvania State Education Association:

“The Harrisburg School District, the York City School District, Allentown School District, the Reading School District and on the west coast there’s a district called Sto-Rox and another called Duquesne which are, if not totally out of money at this point, are on the verge of being totally out of money,” Gottlieb said. “Duquesne has been in straits for many, many years now.”

The problems stem from a decision made by Republican Governor Tom Corbett to slash nearly $900 million in state education funding last year. Despite the outcry for additional revenue, Corbett has been unwilling to take small steps to recoup funds; he has particularly stubborn in charging fees to oil drilling companies.

Corbett, responding to public pressure, finally joined legislative leaders on Monday to discuss the Chester Upland situation. After a 90 minutes conversation he told the press: “It will be up to everyone to work together to find an acceptable, long-term solution to this problem. A solution that will make sure this problem is not repeated in the future.”

Corbett unveils his next state budget in two weeks. He needs to make sure to give school districts enough funding to give students an education that prepares them for the future. What we’re seeing in Chester Upland and elsewhere is the result of a cut, slash, and defund policy that hurts kids, hurts teachers, and ultimately hurts the state.

Take action – tell Governor Corbett to fully fund public education. If he is serious about not repeating the Chester Upland situation in the future, he needs to show it.

Tags: Education, Pennsylvania, Teachers, Tom Corbett