FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dionne Watts-Williams / press@powerinterfaith.org / 215-713-4875
POWER Interfaith Responds to Senate Budget Vote; Calls it a Betrayal of Pennsylvania’s Children
(Philadelphia, PA: August 14, 2025) – Yesterday, Senate Republicans passed a budget that keeps public education funding flat – refusing to provide the increases needed to meet Pennsylvania’s constitutional obligation to fully and fairly fund our schools.
This move comes just one year after the Commonwealth Court ruled that the state’s school funding system is unconstitutionally inequitable and ordered lawmakers to fix it.
The proposed budget ignores that ruling, disregards the needs of students and teachers, and leaves underfunded school districts without the resources they desperately need. In doing so, it fails children across the Commonwealth, particularly in communities already bearing the brunt of decades of disinvestment.
“The budget passed by the Senate yesterday is a betrayal of Pennsylvania’s children, teachers, and communities.”, says Rev. Dr. Gregory Edwards, Executive Director of POWER Interfaith. “It ignores the legislature’s constitutional duty to fully and fairly fund our public schools and abandons the promise lawmakers made after last year’s bi-partisan basic education funding commission recommendations. Our kids can’t learn in underfunded classrooms, and our teachers can’t do more with less. POWER Interfaith’s leaders, clergy, and congregations will not stand by – we’ll keep pressing for a budget that delivers real increases in public education funding and closes the gap for underfunded districts across the Commonwealth.”
POWER Interfaith stands with partners, educators, and families across Pennsylvania in calling on the Senate to return to the negotiating table in a meaningful way and put forward a budget that fully and fairly funds public education, as required by the Commonwealth Court ruling and the bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission’s recommendations. At the same time, we urge the Governor and House leaders to reject this inadequate budget and hold firm for a plan that delivers real increases in funding and closes the gap for underfunded districts. A just budget must prioritize our children’s future over political stalemates and ensure that every student – no matter their ZIP code – has the resources they need to succeed.
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POWER Interfaith is Pennsylvania’s largest multiracial, multifaith, multigenerational organizing entity. More than 4,700 Pennsylvanians of faith and moral courage are part of this growing movement, coming together across differences to fight for racial and economic justice, a healthy planet, and a stronger democracy. From Philadelphia to Montgomery, Chester to Lancaster, Bucks to Lehigh, and Delaware Counties, we believe that every person has inherent worth and dignity, and that our faith traditions call us to act with boldness and hope. Through faith-rooted organizing, public action, and community-building, we’re working towards a Pennsylvania where everyone has what they need to live and thrive. Learn more at www.powerinterfaith.org.
