A New Public Dialogue on Public Education
Pennsylvania took another step forward this week in determining what our public schools need to prepare all students to meet the state’s academic standards. On Oct. 10, after getting the necessary approval from the General Assembly, the State Board of Education released a Request for Proposals to conduct a statewide education costing-out study.
Good Schools Pennsylvania and our partners advocated hard for this statewide “costing out” study, which will serve as a necessary counterbalance to some of the initiatives included in Act 1, the property tax relief plan that was enacted in June.
According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, a sound school funding formula must address multiple principles, including equity, adequacy, accountability, efficiency and predictability.
Act 1, with its endorsement of voter referendums on school budgets and creation of a task force on cost containment, is exclusively focused on the principle of efficiency. “Adequacy,” on the other hand, is an inadequate word to describe the issue most pressing to children – namely, are there sufficient resources available to all students in all schools to support the attainment of specific educational goals.
Public education advocates have long known that Pennsylvania has an enormous school funding equity gap – where the lowest spending school district spends about $7,000 per student, and the highest spending district is able to spend $18,000. But what has been missing from the dialogue is an honest conversation about what it takes for schools and students to meet the state academic standards – particularly schools with extraordinary high levels of students with special needs stemming from poverty, limited English or disability.
More than 30 other states have performed costing out studies to determine how to align funding with the high standards that students are expected to meet. Recently, a group of Lehigh Valley business and community leaders undertook a similar study to examine the capacity of the Allentown School District to meet the educational needs of its students. Until now, however, Pennsylvania has dodged the question.
Good Schools Pennsylvania gratefully acknowledges the legislative interest that emerged this past spring with key support from Sen. Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), Rep. Mike Veon (D-Beaver) and Rep. Jennifer Mann (D-Lehigh) – all of whom introduced resolutions (SR274, HR696, and HR760) directing the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to undertake a costing out study. Additional support materialized from the State Board of Education, ultimately resulting in an agreement to have the State Board of Education steer the process, with reports due to the General Assembly in 6 and 12 months time.
This partnership between the State Board of Education and the General Assembly speaks to their respective roles and responsibilities in regard to public education: The State Board of Education established the academic standards to which students and schools are now held accountable, so providing Pennsylvanians with credible information about what it takes to meet those standards is the next critical piece. Ultimately, however, it is the General Assembly that is charged with providing a ‘thorough and efficient” education in Pennsylvania, and balancing the multiple principles of equity, adequacy, accountability, efficiency and predictability.
The coming year presents a rare window of opportunity for Pennsylvanians to have a new kind of dialogue, one in which we get to share our hopes and dreams for how our public schools may best serve our children and our communities. In too many of our communities, discussions around public education only take place between a “rock and a hard place,” as school boards deliberate between the unpopular choices of raising property taxes or making budget cuts that threaten to weaken the curriculum. Alternatively, in cash-strapped districts where parents rally to secure essential resources for their neighborhood school, they are often left with the unsettling feeling that they have just “robbed Peter to pay Paul.”
In contrast, a costing out study guides us first in naming our aspirations for public education, then defining the educational resources that are needed to truly make sure no child is left behind, and only then ascribing a price tag.
Of course, the information gleaned from a costing-out study is just the first step on the road toward a sound school funding formula. Courageous decisions will have to be made about how Pennsylvania raises taxes and distributes revenues, and our legislators will need a lot of encouragement from their constituents to take these steps. Good Schools Pennsylvania is committed to using this period to inform and mobilize citizens around the fundamental right of all children to receive a high quality public education. To learn more about Good Schools Pennsylvania and how you can get involved in campaigning for educational excellence in our state, call our toll free number at 1-866-720-4086 or info@goodschoolspa.org. Please visit our website at www.goodschoolspa.org.
Contact: Janis Risch, 1-866-720-4086
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