Sign the Petition: Tell the Governor and General Assembly “Adequate School Funding Now”

From PA Schools Work (http://paschoolswork.org/):

We are entering the season when discussions about public education priorities start heating up in Harrisburg.

Not only will lawmakers be considering issues related to charter and cyber charter school reform, they will also be having discussions about how much new funding for public schools they will support in the 2019-2020 state budget.

While Governor Wolf’s proposed modest increases of $166 million in Basic Education Funding and $50 million in special education funding are a step in the right direction, these new investments fall short of what our students need.

That is why we are joining our partners in the PA Schools Work coalition in asking Pennsylvanians who care about public education to sign this petition calling on Governor Wolf and members of the Pennsylvania legislature to fund PA’s public schools now.

Go to http://paschoolswork.org/petition/ to sign the petition (petition text is below in italics).

Years of underinvestment by the state have left schools $3 billion short in basic education and $1.38 billion short in special education funding. This is a pivotal moment that could impact the education level of our workforce for generations to come.

In the state with the largest gap between the poorest and wealthiest districts, only a larger increase of state funding targeted to the districts that need it most will enable an excellent education for every child regardless of zip code. Property taxes are high because the state isn’t paying its share.

Please increase Basic Education Funding by $400 million and Special Education funding by $100 million in the 2019-20 Budget. Anything less will be inadequate.

State lawmakers need to know that their constituents expect them to support funding our children’s schools.

Please join Pennsylvanians from every corner of the state and sign this petition today.

Click HERE for a link to the petition on Facebook that you can share with your networks.

As we learn more about discussions in Harrisburg around cyber charter funding reform, charter school reform, and public school funding in the 2019-2020 budget, we will keep you updated. Thank you for your continued support of public education.