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Rural teachers tell senators housing, funding and consolidation threaten small schools
Summary
Teachers representing small and rural districts told the Senate Education Committee that housing shortages, teacher recruitment shortfalls and proposed budget caps or consolidation could hollow out local schools that serve as community centers; speakers urged locally-led solutions and careful review of Act 73 and tax proposals.
Several teachers and association leaders described rural schools as community hubs and warned that housing unaffordability, shrinking teacher pipelines and budget pressures threaten their viability.
Christie Park, a fourth-grade teacher at Birk Town School, described how returning to the classroom and applying social-emotional learning led to dramatic drops in behavior referrals in her cohort. She urged support for teacher preparation and warned…
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