Editorial: Rally for fair school funding gains momentum Mercury 5-26-19
That’s the message gaining momentum in the towns of this region as school fair funding advocates mobilize to converge on the capital on June 12.
Pottstown School District and schools in Delaware County are among the most active – and vocal – in the effort to distribute all school funding in Pennsylvania according to the 2016 Fair Funding Formula. On June 12, those schools are teaming up with POWER interfaith advocacy group in a Fair Funding Rally in Harrisburg.
The stakes are high: Despite Pennsylvania's standing as the state with the worst school funding gap between wealthy and poor districts, only about 9 percent of each year's education funding is allocated through the Fair Funding Formula, leaving poor districts severely underfunded.
In Pottstown, for example, using the formula to its fullest would erase $13 million in state funding deficit, providing substantial resources and reduced burden on local taxpayers.
Pottstown School District Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez speaks to the issue with passion: "Complaint without action leads exactly nowhere. On June 12, I will be in Harrisburg. If you want to come with me, I'll figure out how to get the buses and we will storm the gates," he told those attending a recent school board meeting to discuss budget cuts.
"And when I say we'll storm the gates, I don't mean for nothing. We've been working for years on something that will actually change the bottom line, so write this down. House Bill 961 calls for 100 percent use of the Fair Funding Formula," said Rodriguez.
House Bill 961 sponsored by Rep. Christopher Rabb, of Philadelphia, has 56 co-sponsors and needs 102 votes to pass. But as Rodriguez points out, these types of bills never get to the floor for a vote because controlling House leaders come from districts where poverty and fair funding are not issues. Those districts would get less money if fair funding was fully implemented.
"Don't just think that one day is going to change everything. Take some time and call a legislator. Call (House) Speaker (Mike) Turzai,” Rodriguez told the crowd at the recent meeting.
Pottstown School Board meetings are not the only local forums addressing fair funding. On Monday, YWCA TriCounty Area hosted a forum at Montgomery County Community College West Campus to show how fair funding is interwoven with racial issues.
The workshop on Equity in Education, Education Apartheid, co-sponsored with POWER, illustrated how districts with higher percentages of minorities are also those who are most underfunded. Studies have shown that race affects the funding issues even when income is not part of the analysis.
In Delaware County, the fair funding advocacy group Public Citizens for Children and Youth held a summit in February, “Delaware County Unites for Education,” that has inspired every school district in the county to pass resolutions calling for action on fair funding.
In a pitch for the June 12 rally, Rodriguez urged people to show up "because this is the morally right thing to do, it's not about money, it's about students. And until people understand that we are not begging for money, we are fighting for students, nothing will change and we will be right back here again next year.”
The June 12 rally will take buses from sites throughout Montgomery, Chester, Delaware, Bucks and Philadelphia counties. People are urged to call legislators before they go to say “we’re coming.”
Among legislators in Harrisburg, this may be déjà vu all over again. But among the school leaders, teachers, parents, and students who prove every day they deserve the same support as their wealthier neighbors, this feels different.
A momentum is growing. See you Wednesday, June 12, on the bus to Harrisburg.