CQE UPDATE

A Victory for Pennsylvania Public Schools

In October 2009, after a 101-day budget impasse, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell approved a spending plan for the state that kept the legislature's commitment to full and fair funding of Pennsylvania's public schools.

Despite difficult economic times, Pennsylvania's elected officials demonstrated their commitment to the school funding targets they set in 2008 by passing a budget that provided for a $5.5 billion investment in basic education, including a $300 million increase in basic education subsidies to school districts. This increase in education funding will ensure that Pennsylvania schools are equipped with the tools and resources they need to increase student achievement over the next decade.

Recent academic gains that Pennsylvania schools have made—and that were protected by the state's 2009 budget—have been recognized by several national institutions. In August 2009 the Center on Education Policy (CEP) reported that between 2002 and 2008, Pennsylvania was the only state in the nation in which students made gains in all academic categories. These findings are in line with a report released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which demonstrated that Pennsylvania was one of only six states in which significant academic gains were made in reading and math since 2005.

The increased investment in education was in no small part a result of the efforts of the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign, a coalition of over 30 organizations and numerous education advocates from across the state. During the lengthy budget impasse, the Pennsylvania School Funding Campaign worked tirelessly to ensure that that the spending plan provided the funding that the state's schools need to continue to achieve academic success. From organizing rallies in the state capitol to hosting "billion dollar bake sales" for schools, the campaign succeeded in convincing state legislators not to "turn back the clock on PA kids" and to adequately fund Pennsylvania schools.

RELATED ARTICLES

Local lawmakers: Education highlight of budget compromise, The Pottstown Mercury

Rendell preserves school aid in budget, Philadelphia Inquirer