Michelle Williams Lopez (center) with fellow organizers at POWER's Leadership. Summit, July 2025.
Source: The Morning Call
The current state budget impasse should be of concern to all those who care about building and living in stable, equitable, thriving, prosperous communities. Communities where all children are given the opportunity to not only succeed, but to thrive. The state budget impasse, which has now entered its third month, poses a direct threat to the success of these children.
The constitution of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania requires that the General Assembly provide for the maintenance of a thorough and efficient system of public education, meaning they must fund it. In our commonwealth, about 51% of public school funding is derived from local sources such as property taxes, 35% is provided via state funded programs and the remaining almost 14% is provided by the federal government. Due to decades of under-funding in predominantly low-wealth, low-property value, small rural, and majority Black and Brown districts, this was not done.
In 2014 a lawsuit was filed against the commonwealth on behalf of six school districts, parents, the NAACP State Conference, and the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools. In 2023 the court ruled in their favor finding the state’s school funding system is unconstitutional and must be reformed, thus marking a historic moment in the fight for education justice. With the intent of ensuring equity in the distribution of funds, a fair funding formula was implemented during the early stages of the Gov. Wolf administration, and in 2023, a bipartisan group of state officials known as the Basic Education Funding Commission was tasked with making recommendations about how to improve our system of funding public education. While exposing a monumental $4.5-billion dollar funding gap between school districts that have and those that have not, and highlighting the urgent need for reform in public education funding, the commission devised a plan to fully fund public education in Pennsylvania by 2031. Now the responsibility for codifying these plans lies with the governor and the General Assembly.
During the 2024 legislative session, the Pennsylvania House passed HB 2370 which would have codified the full recommendations of the Basic Education Funding Commission, but it did not pass the state Senate. Also, in 2024 the state budget included a $494-million initial payment earmarked for the adequacy gap.
On Feb. 4, 2025, Gov. Shapiro introduced a $51.5 billion dollar budget which included a second adequacy payment and a cap on cyber school tuition. Capping cyber tuition is paramount because the current funding system results in varying tuition rates for cyber schools. This system coupled with a loose accountability, has been manifested by huge increases in taxpayer money being used to pay for not only all charter schools, but cyber charters in particular. The unfortunate result is that huge sums of money are diverted away from our brick-and-mortar public schools where it is desperately needed.
The initial budget rejection by the state Senate was countered by the state House on July 14, 2025. In an effort to compromise, the House shaved $1 billion dollars from the proposed budget, keeping intact desperately needed funding for public education and transportation. And yet, here we are today, more than three months past the state’s deadline without a budget and with public schools already having missed $1.75 billion dollars in payments. Not only does this lack of state funding affect the ability of our public schools to fully support students and their families, but it also prevents the hiring of essential staff such as teachers, counselors, librarians and other educational support workers.
So why is this so important? The education of our youth is a win-win for all of us. Not only does education provide our children with basic knowledge essentials such as reading, writing and mathematical skills, but its scope of influence has infinite possibilities for achievement and success. Educating our children fosters critical thinking, problem-solving skills and personal development. Education can equip our children with the skills necessary for higher- paying jobs providing financial security. Education can empower our children to overcome socioeconomic barriers, thereby promoting equality in the community through opportunity. Education contributes to greater self-worth, lower crime rates and better health outcomes. Education is paramount to the success not only of individuals, but of the entire community. After all, a rising tide really does lift all boats.
The General Assembly needs to be reminded of and held accountable to their moral and legal obligation to our children. Fairly and adequately fund our public schools now.
This is a contributed opinion column. Michelle Williams-Lopez is a retired critical care registered nurse who lives in Whitehall and is a volunteer Leader on the Education Justice Team of POWER Interfaith, a multiracial, multifaith social justice organization.
