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Advocates and parents press for adequacy funding; business group urges accountability and workforce alignment
Summary
Education advocates cited the Commonwealth Court finding and pressed the legislature to fill a roughly $4 billion adequacy gap; district and parent witnesses described how recent funding has been used for tutors, counselors and infrastructure while the business community called for stronger accountability and workforce alignment.
Education advocates, parents and business representatives told the House Education Committee the Commonwealth must move faster to fill an identified school funding adequacy gap and pair new dollars with accountability and workforce alignment.
Maura McInerney of the Education Law Center told the committee the Commonwealth Court’s ruling obligates the legislature to address the remaining adequacy gap and urged a four‑year timeline to close it. “The legislature cannot treat the need of adequate and equitable funding as something that is optional,” McInerney said. She asked lawmakers to plan investments that would address what she described as a roughly $4,000,000,000 shortfall.
District and parent examples McInerney provided district examples of how recent funding and federal relief dollars were being used: Greater Johnstown added kindergarten tutors, literacy and math coaches, after‑school tutoring, mental‑health services and CTE staff; Wilkes‑Barre expanded STEM and ESL supports and maintained full‑day kindergarten; Panther Valley added after‑school tutoring, a career counselor and foreign language. McInerney emphasized many districts used one‑time ESSER funds for staffing that would otherwise not exist.
Parent testimony from Chester Upland Chester Upland parent Sylvia Victoria Richbough described direct effects in her family: new special education staff, expanded after‑school tutoring and guidance services. “This extra funding is greatly benefiting my children and other children that I know in the community,” she said, and detailed needs that persist including pre‑K slots and building repairs at several schools.
Business perspective: accountability and alignment Aaron Riggleman of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry said businesses are major investors in the state’s schools and want stronger links between K‑12 outcomes and workforce needs. “This is an investment they believe in,” Riggleman said of business tax contributions that help fund schools, and he urged clearer accountability measures and stronger alignment between curriculum and local labor demands.
What lawmakers heard and what remains unresolved - Funding pace and timeline: Advocates asked for a multi‑year plan to close the adequacy gap, with McInerney urging a four‑year schedule; committee members and witnesses noted the court did not prescribe how the legislature must raise or allocate the additional revenue. - Local uses of funds: Witnesses provided specific examples of tutors, coaches, mental‑health staff, expanded pre‑K and facilities repairs funded with recent appropriations and ESSER dollars; witnesses warned some investments require ongoing funding to be sustained. - Accountability: Business representatives and several legislators asked for objective assessments and consistent measures to ensure dollars change outcomes; advocates stressed multi‑year funding paired with targeted programs and facilities planning.
Ending Advocates and parents credited recent dollars with immediate benefits for students but asked for a legislated timeline and sustained investments to close the adequacy gap and address long‑term facilities and pre‑K needs. Business groups urged that any funding plan be coupled with clear performance metrics and stronger alignment between education and workforce needs.
