WHYY
By
(Office of Gov. Tom Wolf)
Pennsylvania distributes billions of dollars of education funding based on enrollment numbers last updated in 1991. As a result, some wealthy school districts are getting far more dollars-per-student than others in lower-income areas.
That’s one of the conclusions reached by a new report on inequities in how the commonwealth funds education, published Wednesday by the nonprofit advocacy group Public Citizens for Children and Youth.
The report focuses on Pennsylvania’s ‘hold harmless’ policy. Enacted in 1991, it bars the state from funding school districts at levels lower than the prior year. When it was implemented, districts appreciated its guarantee of predictability, making it easier for school boards to make long-term plans. Over time, as the student enrollment plummeted in some places and surged in others, it’s added to the wide inequities that exist in Pennsylvania public schools.