IN PENNSYLVANIA—
Last year, a judge in the Commonwealth Court said that the state’s public school funding system was unconstitutional because it left some school districts with insufficient funds.
The ruling comes from a lawsuit that went on for ten years and involved six school districts, such as Wilkes-Barre Area, Panther Valley, and Shenandoah.
Monday, lawmakers in the House did something.
Kristin Volchansky says, “It’s a big step toward making sure that every child has the same chance at a better future, no matter where they live or how much money their parents have.”
An advocate for In This Together NEPA named Kristin Volchansky says the bill is a big win for school systems.
Tens of millions of dollars are going to those areas to make sure they have enough money. “It would completely change the game,” Volchansky said.
Five Republicans voted against the bill, but all 102 Democrats in the House did. Bridget Kosierowski, a state representative, voted in favor, saying,
“This is a real down payment on a better future for our kids and families, and we’re not going to raise taxes to do it,” Kosierowski said in a statement.
Kosierowski says that voting “yes” lets all Pennsylvania children have the same chances,
Kosierowski said, “This plan will make sure that the state lives up to our constitutional and moral duty to make sure that every student gets a good school and a chance to succeed.”
94 Republicans voted against the bill, and State Representative Dave Watro was one of them. Watro thinks there wasn’t enough time to look over the 87-page bill.
“After committee, I was a strong no because I didn’t have time to think about it, review it, and understand it,” Watro said.
If the bill is passed, the amount would go up by $5 billion. Watro wants to know how the money will be raised.
“How are we going to pay more than $5 billion?” We need to find a way to protect taxpayers and pay for our students’ schooling at the same time, but we don’t have one right now, Watro asked.
The bill is now in the Senate, where it will either be passed or sent back to the House.
Source: Fox56
