DV Journal

Gov. Josh Shapiro and his administration chide the Pennsylvania legislature for hoarding cash with spending sights aimed at draining the commonwealth’s $7 billion Rainy Day Fund. However, Harrisburg’s budget “two-step” tends to forget others sitting on large reserves.

Pennsylvania school districts continue to stockpile massive reserves while lobbying for more tax dollars. Recent data from the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) shows district reserve funds reached an all-time high of $6.8 billion in 2022–23, up $836 million from the previous year.

PDE also reported the total amount of tax dollars held outside reserves in special funds for capital expenditures, athletic facilities, and debt service.

Altogether, Pennsylvania school districts stockpiled $12 billion.

Meanwhile, the Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) expects school property tax collections to rise. In its annual analysis, the IFO estimates property taxes will increase by 3.2 percent this year to almost $17.2 billion, with faster increases projected in 2024 and 2025—4.8 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

While maintaining reasonable reserves is wise, most school district reserves are excessive. State recommendations vary between 8 percent and 20 percent of a district’s annual spending. Notably, more than half of school districts exceed the latter.

Some districts, such as West Chester Area, have a history of padding reserves while raising taxes. In a January 2023 audit, the state found the district “raised taxes twice during the audit period despite having sufficient funds in its General Fund for anticipated annual expenditures.”

By 2021, West Chester Area reported $66,334,097 in reserves—more than 20 percent of expenditures. West Chester Area still maintains a large reserve fund totaling $86.6 million—more than 30 percent of expenditures.

In fact, almost half of Chester County schools carry reserves above 20 percent.

Despite these massive stockpiles, calls for more education dollars from Harrisburg continue. Schools cite inflation, funding following kids to charter schools, and the end of pandemic-related aid to justify tax increases.

However, education spending is growing. When factoring in expanding reserve funds, the $1.4 billion in unused pandemic-related aid, and three years of record-breaking basic education spending hikes, our schools have never had more resources.

PDE’s latest data shows Pennsylvania’s per-pupil spending at $21,985, which, if compared to all 50 states is the seventh-highest in the nation.

This flood of spending coincides with a declining student population. Statewide, public schools educate 72,500 fewer kids than a decade ago.

Something doesn’t add up—just like Pennsylvania students. More than half of Pennsylvania’s fourth graders and nearly 75 percent of the state’s eighth graders cannot perform math at grade level. Moreover, math proficiency remains below pre-pandemic test scores from 2019.

For years, the lie fed to us is that schools underperform because they lack funds.

And the lie seems to work. Pennsylvanians woefully underestimate how much we spend on education. Voters estimate that Pennsylvania spends, on average, $4,300 per student (roughly one-fourth of actual spending). However, when told the correct amount, 82 percent said spending is “about right” or “too high.”

The 2024–25 budget negotiations present a unique opportunity for Pennsylvania: Lawmakers can continue to support public schools at historic rates and give children more education choices.

Right now, lawmakers are again debating Lifeline Scholarships, which Senate Bill 795 currently codifies as the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS) Scholarship Program. Last year’s state budget negotiations stalled over its then-proposed $100 million (less than 1 percent of education funding) for children assigned to failing schools to choose a private alternative.

In Chester County, failing schools include every Coatesville Area middle school.

Lifeline Scholarships are not a partisan issue: 77 percent of voters support this idea. More importantly, 50 percent of parents say they would send their child to private school if costs weren’t a factor.

Public school leaders, who know better than anyone that not every school can serve every child, should support Lifeline Scholarships, too. EdChoice found 26 of 29 studies concluding that school choice programs improved the academic outcomes of public school students. With added competition, school choice programs benefit participants and public school students.

Pennsylvania public education doesn’t need more money. Instead, it needs fundamental change that empowers kids and families, not lobbyists demanding increased taxes.

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With momentum building across the nation and our kids growing up quickly, there’s no time to waste. As Pennsylvania’s budget discussions heat up, now is the time for lawmakers to provide hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania students trapped in schools that don’t work for them with a pathway to a better educational future.

The Keystone State has become the next ground zero in the effort to empower parents and ensure your taxpayer dollars follow your child instead of funding the system. As one of America’s original 13 colonies, Pennsylvania now has the opportunity to become the 13th state to adopt universal education freedom.

The nationwide education freedom revolution was on full display in Philadelphia last month at the Education Policy Academy hosted by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Our two-day policy bootcamp was attended by members of the Education Freedom Alliance (EFA), as well as key state lawmakers from Pennsylvania and states around the country who agree parents should be equipped with choice in their children’s education.

Not only did we hear about the success of universal programs in states like West Virginia, Arizona, Iowa, Arkansas, Florida, and others, but we were honored to witness the impact of education choice in-person with a tour of Father Judge High School in northeast Philadelphia.

An all-boys Catholic high school that emphasizes career skills as part of their curriculum, Father Judge allows students to graduate with more than a high-school diploma. They can also receive the education necessary to obtain an industry-specific certification in fields like welding and automative tech. It was incredible to meet several young men, just 16 and 17 years old, who already had high paying job offers before graduation.

As a grandmother and mother of two adult children, I know that the sense of accomplishment felt by these teenagers can only be exceeded by the sense of pride their parents must feel in their triumph. To see those they watched over, cared for, and guided from the start to achieve so much so early is every parent’s dream. The success of these programs propelled Father Judge to become a 2022 semifinalist of the prestigious Yass Prize, and provides living proof of the importance of innovation and choice in education, as well as the positive future impact of the Lifeline Scholarship Program.

And, this movement isn’t bound by party affiliation or politics. Across town from our ALEC event, Team Roc, the philanthropic arm of Jay-Z’s entertainment company, announced a series of community events in Philadelphia to support similar school choice efforts in Pennsylvania. And while he could see the momentum building from the education establishment, Gov. Josh Shapiro finally came out in support of expanding education options back in October.

This is why lawmakers in Harrisburg must come together and support bipartisan efforts to make education freedom a reality for every Pennsylvania family. That means providing families with a choice to send their students to charter schools, private schools, home schools, micro schools, virtual schools, or even traditional public schools. The key is empowering parents with the choice that best fits their students’ individual needs.

Studies consistently show that education freedom has a positive impact on those attending public and nonpublic schools alike. Of the 28 peer-reviewed studies compiled by EdChoice – each analyzing the impact of education freedom on public school outcomes – 25 found positive effects, one found no effect, and two found negative effects. Among the positive effects were improved test scores among both program participants and public-school students, improved parental satisfaction, higher educational attainment, and cost savings for taxpayers. Those results suggest education freedom can truly be called the rising tide that lifts all boats.

That is why 77 percent of families support expanding Lifeline Scholarships to students in Pennsylvania’s worst performing schools. Backed by Gov. Shapiro, this bipartisan effort would provide the state’s neediest students with access to learning environments that offer an education model tailored to their unique educational needs. Two of Pennsylvania’s neighbors, West Virginia and Ohio, were among the first states in the nation to create universal education freedom for all students. Now, it’s the Keystone State’s turn.

(This column first appeared in Broad + Liberty.) 

Black pastors from across the state held a press conference at the Capitol this week, calling on Governor Shapiro to “courageously lead us beyond the toxic, bipartisan politics and preferences that undermine a quality education for every child in Pennsylvania.”

Led by the Black Pastors United for Education, a network of non-sectarian, bipartisan pastors and congregations, the group’s founder, Reverend Joshua C. Robertson, presented an open letter to the Governor, signed by sixty pastors across the Commonwealth.

The rotunda was filled with pastors, parents, and students for the press conference where Rev. Robertson passionately called on lawmakers to put politics aside and focus on children and their education.

“Lawmakers should not be beholden to unions, school districts, special interest groups, lobbyists, and beyond. We need lawmakers to put Pennsylvania students at the center of their decision.”

Robertson then read the letter to Governor Shapiro asking him to fully fund public schools, enact Lifeline scholarships for children in the state’s lowest performing schools, and oppose cuts to public cyber charter schools.

The letter details the three requests:

1. Fully and properly fund our public schools. We want to be part of a robust conversation that includes several groups and results in a multi-year strategy and commitment to properly invest, sustain, and secure funding for our public schools. We recognize the need for high-quality traditional public schools.
2. Enact Lifeline Scholarships for children in Pennsylvania’s lowest-performing schools. These scholarships open doors, provide access, extend relief, and empower our communities to build schools and education environments that work for our kids.
3. Oppose cuts to public cyber charter schools. In Pennsylvania, public charter schools and cyber charter schools educate and serve a higher percentage of low-income and non-white students than traditional school districts. Our parents are choosing cyber charter schools as the only free alternative educational option for their children.

In an interview after the event, Robertson elaborated on the requests in the letter. Specifically on the call for fully funding public schools, he said, “money doesn’t solve everything. We need to change the pedagogy of teaching because it is not currently working for many students.”

He and his coalition want to change the way that schools are teaching to ensure that students are prepared for a career, the military, or college. Robertson wants to be part of a “robust conversation” to address the fact that approximately half of Pennsylvania students are not proficient in reading and math.

Black Pastors United for Education are immediately focused on the students in the lowest performing schools. Robertson said that they “need to stop the bleeding.” He described a recent incident in Harrisburg where a nineteen-year-old pregnant woman was shot and killed. In his words, “education plays a direct role.”

A recent high school graduate spoke at the press conference about the impact of educational freedom in her life. She, too, worried about the violence and bullying in the public school system and thrived in the Rock City Learning Center, run by Reverend Robertson’s church. The young woman is headed to college in the Fall.

Robertson also said that it is imperative that charter school funding is not cut. For families who cannot afford private schools, charter and cyber charter schools are the only affordable option. He acknowledged that the system for funding charter schools may need to be addressed, but the answer is not cutting the funding.

He challenged public schools to offer an education that parents want.

Almost a year ago, Governor Shapiro declared, “every child of God deserves a quality education.” Despite his sentiments, he yielded his power to veto the Lifeline Scholarships, newly branded as the Pennsylvania Award for Student Success (PASS).

Speculations remain whether Shapiro and other Democrats were beholden to the special interest groups that Robertson mentioned.

Now, the governor has another opportunity to fulfill his campaign promises, and more importantly, ensure that every child has access to a quality education regardless of their zip code.

Let’s hope for the sake of our children that Shapiro puts “toxic politics” aside and grants “every child of God a quality education.”

What would you do to help your children succeed? Would you advocate for them, pushing to change the broken systems that keep them away from the tools they need to succeed?

It’s a question many Pennsylvania parents face daily as they reckon with their children’s futures and the broken public school system that they’re stuck in. Now, parents are speaking out.

Their message is clear: Educational opportunity isn’t just for the wealthy, and school quality shouldn’t be dictated by an antiquated Zip code system. Every child deserves an excellent education, and parents should be able to select the environment best suited to their children’s needs.

It sounds like common sense, but unfortunately, for thousands of Pennsylvania families trapped in failing public schools, this opportunity is out of reach. And for Philadelphia mothers like Tamika Nwalipenja, educational opportunity isn’t just a convenient perk; it’s a lifeline for her children.

A mother of five, Tamika understands the limitations of the Philadelphia public school system well. Her older children attended William D. Kelley School. The Pennsylvania Department of Education rated William Kelley as one of the commonwealth’s lowest-achieving schools, with fewer than five percent of students proficient in math, fewer than a quarter reading at grade level, and more than half chronically absent.

And though Tamika loved many teachers at William Kelley, she knew her children needed better than this assigned school.

“[William Kelley] just didn’t compete with the other schools,” said Tamika. “I knew that my son was highly intelligent—both he and my daughter—and I wanted them … to have other options.”

Year after year, Tamika sought help through Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP), which provides under-resourced families with scholarships to attend private or parochial schools. Thankfully, after years of effort by Tamika, CSFP awarded scholarships—funded by the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit (OSTC) programs—to her two youngest children to Gesu School, a highly rated private Catholic institution serving economically disadvantaged youth. Because there is more demand for these scholarships than funding available, due to arbitrary caps imposed by the state, they must be given out via lottery.

“Every day, I’m grateful we were picked for that lottery, and we were able to receive that support financially for our children,” said Tamika.

Tamika’s kids got out. But when it comes to accessing school choice programs based on lotteries, success isn’t guaranteed. Many children are never selected.

Pennsylvania parents and their kids deserve better—and there are two clear solutions. The first is to dramatically increase the EITC and OSTC scholarship programs from which Tamika’s children benefited, so that there are no more waiting lists. This includes fully funding the Economically Disadvantage Schools fund – which gives supplementary scholarships to help families like Tamika’s. The second is Lifeline Scholarships. By offering an Education Opportunity Account to any student assigned to a district school in the bottom 15 percent of performance metrics, Lifeline Scholarships empower parents to choose which school best serves all their children’s needs. Lifeline Scholarships ensure that those who can’t afford tuition don’t leave children in schools that don’t fit their needs.

It’s time these Lifeline Scholarships receive the legislative support they deserve.

Gov. Josh Shapiro promised to expand education opportunities for Pennsylvania families and advocated for Lifeline Scholarships. Now, he’s caving to pressure from his own party, backtracking on his repeated promises and threatening a line-item veto of his own bipartisan agreement.

But the fight is far from over, it’s merely moving to the next phase. A final budget agreement still requires enabling legislation from the State Senate, where President Pro Tempore Kim Ward has vowed to make Lifeline Scholarships – and the expansion of current tax credit programs – her top priority.

“It’s very important for all of our children to be able to be educated properly in a safe environment—a place where they feel loved,” Tamika said. “And if the Lifeline Scholarships can support my family and other families as well, then please … find the resources that are available so that our families can benefit.”

Tamika is right. These scholarships are the lifeline that underserved Pennsylvania kids desperately need. Our elected officials must take a good look and realize that these kids are more than just a line item—and their futures shouldn’t be jeopardized by the stroke of Shapiro’s pen.

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The Lifeline Scholarship program is getting more support. Some 65 individuals and organizations sent a letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro and the state legislature Thursday backing the program. It is designed to help students in failing public schools learn elsewhere.

The coalition includes two former U.S. education secretaries, rapper Meek Mill, state and national organizations, and schools nationwide.

The Lifeline Scholarship program was introduced by Reps. Clint Owlett (R-Tioga) and Martina White (R-Philadelphia) in the House and Sen. Judy Ward (R-Blair) in the Senate. It would help students in the lowest performing 14 percent of public schools. Shapiro has indicated he supports the program, promising, “I won’t take a dollar out of our public schools.”

The letter said, in part, “33 of the bottom 15 percent of high schools have zero students performing math at their grade level; six high schools have not a single student reading at their grade level. Minority, low-income students are overrepresented in these underperforming schools.

“Without Lifeline Scholarships, we are setting our children up for failure before they even have an opportunity to succeed.

“The truth is this program would save kids—and save public schools money. Lifeline Scholarships would result in smaller class sizes, which would mean more focused learning and more funding per student. The program provides $5,000 and $10,000 scholarships for students who wish to leave their assigned public school—a fraction of the $21,300 per student school districts receive,” the letter said.

A recent Commonwealth Court ruling said Pennsylvania’s funding system must ensure that “every student receives a meaningful opportunity to succeed.” The letter argued that lifeline Scholarships are the way to deliver on that promise.

“Lifeline Scholarships will give our most vulnerable students hope and the opportunity for a brighter future. It’s time we deliver an excellent education to all of Pennsylvania’s children,” the letter stated.

However, the program has many critics, and it’s unclear whether it will ultimately become law.

“Right now is the time to invest more into our schools, not less. Private school voucher programs defund our public schools,” said Arthur G. Steinberg, president of AFT Pennsylvania. “There is literally no mathematically sound way to send money to unaccountable private and religious institutions without harming school districts’ budgets. It is a farce.”

And Rich Askey, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), said, “Tuition vouchers, in whatever form they may take, siphon precious taxpayer dollars from the public schools that serve 1.7 million Pennsylvania students and give them to private and religious schools. In fact, there is absolutely no way to create a tuition voucher program that doesn’t take money from public schools.”

“Our public school students don’t have a moment to waste on this nonsense,” said Askey. “Now, let’s get to work on passing a budget that supports them and our public schools.”

In fact, the Lifeline Scholarship program increases per-pupil funding at underperforming schools where students are eligible for the scholarships. Because their scholarships are funded by a state account separate from the K-12 budget, the schools they leave behind retain their funding but would have fewer students to serve.

“Republicans who oppose adding more funding for public schools keep warning us about a future state spending crunch. Yet when it comes to their priorities—such as lifeline scholarships—as well as the huge $340 million subsidy for private schools in the ETIC and OSTC program that already exist—they forget this warning,” said Marc Stier, executive director of the Pennsylvania Policy Center. Stier also pointed out evidence from other states that have enacted proposals for vouchers like lifeline scholarships shows they have failed in multiple ways.

But the latest round of National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests found performance in math and reading at public schools plunged at a record pace, while students attending parochial schools experienced no meaningful decline in either subject on the latest NAEP.

Supporters believe the state can make changes to its education system now.

“Our children trapped in failing district schools need more than increased funding; their parents need choices—good choices. No child ought to be forced to attend a school that is failing them simply because of their zip code. These children need a way out of a system that has failed them,” GOP activist Guy Ciarrocchi wrote for National Review.

“This is an overwhelming expression of support from a broad coalition on behalf of the 250,000 Pennsylvania students trapped in failing public schools,” said Erik Telford, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Foundation, a free market think tank, which organized the coalition letter. “Lifeline Scholarships offer them hope and access to quality education. This program must be included in the pending budget agreement. With the new school year fast approaching, these children’s futures are hanging in the balance.”

Recognizing that a ZIP code should never determine the quality of a child’s education, we are excited that Pennsylvania’s Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro once again affirmed his support for initiatives like our Lifeline Scholarships that would give struggling students and their families much-needed access to a better education.

In an interview with Fox News regarding education and school choice, the governor said, “Every child of God deserves a shot here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and one of the best ways we can guarantee their success is making sure every child has a quality education.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Our Lifeline Scholarship program is simple. Parents with school-age children (kindergarten through 12th grade) who attend a low-achieving public school will be eligible to receive a scholarship to offset costs associated with choosing an alternative academic setting and curriculum that meets their child’s needs.

Despite what opponents claim, Lifeline Scholarships will not take money away from our public schools. No public school money will be used to fund Lifeline Scholarships. The program will be funded entirely by a separate source of state revenue.

A high-quality education is key to achieving the American Dream. We cannot expect our kids to thrive as adults, as parents, as workers, or as community leaders if we do not give them a solid foundation to build upon.

Lifeline Scholarships will be one of the most impactful educational reforms in Pennsylvania history, with the ability to change the trajectory of the lives of thousands of kids and their families.

During his campaign last year, our governor said he “favors adding choices for parents and educational opportunity for students and funding lifeline scholarships like those approved in other states and introduced in Pennsylvania.”

Our kids cannot afford to wait any longer. We look forward to working with Gov. Shapiro to make this life-changing reform happen!

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