On the second anniversary of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court’s ruling in a landmark school funding case involving Panther Valley School District, legal and education experts gathered Friday to discuss the progress made and the challenges that remain in achieving adequate and equitable school funding across the state.

The virtual discussion, hosted by the Education Law Center, featured Maura McInerney, legal director at the Education Law Center; Daniel Urevick Acklesberg, senior attorney at the Public Interest Law Center; and Brian Costello, superintendent of the Wilkes-Barre Area School District.

The Commonwealth Court found two years ago that Pennsylvania’s school funding system violated the state constitution by failing to provide all children with a “comprehensive, effective, and contemporary system of public education.” The decision determined that the state’s reliance on local property taxes had led to significant disparities between high-wealth and low-wealth districts, discriminating against students in underfunded schools.

“The court ruled that money matters in education and that children are entitled to an education that enables them to achieve academically, socially and civically,” McInerney said. “The court directed the state to devise a plan to fix this problem.”

The ruling was not appealed, making it a final decision, and placed the responsibility on state officials to ensure that public schools receive adequate funding.

Steps taken since the ruling

Following the decision, Gov. Josh Shapiro and the General Assembly convened the Basic Education Funding Commission, which conducted statewide hearings with educators, parents and economic experts. The commission’s final report proposed a funding formula to allocate resources based on each district’s unique needs, including student population, poverty levels, English language learners and students with disabilities.

“The commission created a formula that calculated a funding target for every school district,” Acklesberg said. “It identified the state’s share of underfunding at $4.5 billion as of last year.”

The state Legislature enacted a law in July 2023 that began addressing these disparities, allocating record funding for basic education. Under the law, districts were given one-ninth of their identified adequacy gap, with the intention of closing the funding gap over nine years.

“For years, the state refused to acknowledge what students needed,” Acklesberg said. “The first step to fixing a problem is naming it, and the state has done that. But the second step is actually fixing it.”

Impact on school districts

Superintendent Brian Costello highlighted the tangible benefits of increased funding for the Wilkes-Barre Area School District.

“With these resources, we were able to reduce class sizes, hire additional teachers and instructional coaches, and create smaller reading groups, leading to significant increases in literacy scores,” Costello said.

Costello pointed to mid-year assessments showing that 82% of second graders at Heights Elementary School were now at or above benchmark levels, compared with only 34% a year earlier. The district also expanded programs for English language learners and special education students, improved mental health services and implemented social-emotional learning curricula.

“We are seeing firsthand what is possible when we invest in our students,” Costello said. “But while we celebrate these victories, we know our work is far from done.”

Despite the progress, Costello emphasized that funding for his district remains insufficient to meet the full adequacy target.

“Every year we delay reaching our adequacy target, another class of students moves through our schools without the resources they need to reach their full potential,” he said. “We need the General Assembly to fully commit to Governor Shapiro’s vision.”

Ongoing challenges and next steps

Panelists expressed concerns about the lack of a long-term legislative commitment to closing the funding gap and ensuring that education budgets keep pace with inflation.

“There is no long-term commitment in law to ensure that this happens at a certain pace,” McInerney said. “We need to consider accelerating the pace of reaching constitutional compliance.”

Acklesberg reiterated that the 2023 adequacy law, which acknowledged the $4.5 billion funding gap, was passed on a bipartisan basis.

“Every legislative leader voted for it,” he said. “There has been an admission of the problem, and now there needs to be a commitment to solving it.”

The discussion also touched on debates surrounding school choice options, such as vouchers.

“Vouchers don’t bring us one dollar closer to constitutional compliance,” Acklesberg stated. “There is a constitutional right to a thorough and efficient system of public education, and that right applies to public schools.”

Looking ahead

The governor’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes an additional $500 million for the most underfunded school districts. However, panelists stressed that more needs to be done to meet the court’s mandate.

“We don’t want to be back here every year reminding everyone of their legal obligation,” Acklesberg said. “We want school leaders like Dr. Costello to be able to plan for the future with certainty.”