PSBA report: Pennsylvania school facilities, mandates and special education strain districts

The Pennsylvania School Boards Association’s 2026 State of Education report highlights growing strain on district finances driven by unfunded or underfunded mandates and mounting facilities needs, PSBA officials said on the Keystone Education Report.

Andy Christ, senior director of education policy at the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, said the Plancon school construction reimbursement program was mothballed about a decade ago, was revised in 2019 but has not received the needed state appropriations to deliver reimbursement to districts. "School facilities has really emerged as one of the biggest and most pressing issues facing public education," Christ said, adding that districts often must cover 100% of construction and renovation costs without state support.

Kevin Buscher, chief advocacy officer at PSBA, said the state has recently directed hundreds of millions of dollars toward school facility improvements, including a portion for solar projects, but that those allocations fall short of systemwide needs. He noted that the most recent budget included what he called tinkering amounts — citing $125,000,000 in one budget line — that do not match the scale of needs in large districts such as the School District of Philadelphia.

Both officials also flagged mandated spending pressures that complicate district budgeting. Christ said mandated costs such as pension contributions, charter‑school tuition and special education are driving spending increases. "When you dig a little deeper and you look at the reasons why schools are spending what they're spending, it becomes a little clearer," he said.

Buscher and Christ said delayed state payments and multi‑month budget impasses exacerbate local cash‑flow problems, sometimes forcing districts to float short‑term debt. Buscher pointed to the recent settlement that put $493,000,000 into the Ready to Learn/adequacy lines but warned that delays in distributing those funds undercut their value to districts.

On special education, Christ said Pennsylvania is seeing an increase in students identified with disabilities and that related staffing and service costs have surged. He noted the gap between modest increases in state and federal special‑education funding and much greater increases in expenditures, saying that more state and federal support is needed to offset local fiscal strain.

Buscher framed long‑standing federal underfunding of special education as a driver of local burdens and urged federal increases that could materially ease state and local budgets.

The report also shows districts moving to address mental health and safety: Buscher noted a $100,000,000 line in the recently settled budget for school mental‑health and safety, and both officials said investments are being used for school mental‑health programs and safety measures. They warned, however, that demand for services often outpaces available provider capacity and that continuity of care beyond the school day remains a concern.

Both PSBA officials said more than half of districts reported some use of artificial intelligence in classrooms or programs, and that districts vary widely in training and policy. Christ said that some districts have moved proactively to train staff and students, while others face risks such as academic misconduct and need time to craft local policies that reflect community needs.

PSBA urged members to use the statewide data in the report alongside local evidence when engaging legislators and shaping budgets before the June 30 deadline. "When you combine that statewide perspective with your local perspective, that can be an incredibly powerful and persuasive advocacy tool," Christ said.

The PSBA report is being delivered to state lawmakers as part of the association’s advocacy effort; PSBA recommended districts mine the report for specific data points to share with representatives and senators as budget decisions progress.