Education Funding in Pennsylvania: Inadequate, Inequitable & Unconstitutional

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1 Education Funding in Pennsylvania: Inadequate, Inequitable & Unconstitutional

2 Sources of Pennsylvania Education Funds 2 3.2% 3.1% 8% 86% of local revenue comes from property taxes 56% 59.7% 34.0% 36% State Local Federal Other

3 3 How does Pennsylvania compare? Percent of a State s Contribution to Education Vermont Hawaii Arkansas New Mexico Minnesota Alaska Idaho Nevada Indiana Washington Delaware North Dakota North Carolina West Virginia Michigan Kansas California Kentucky Alabama Wyoming Iowa Wisconsin Oregon Mississippi Oklahoma Montana Tennessee South Carolina Maryland Georgia Colorado Ohio Missouri Louisiana New York New Jersey Florida Massachusetts Virginia Maine Connecticut Texas Arizona Rhode Island Pennsylvania Illinois Nebraska South Dakota Median

4 2011 Cuts Hit Poorer Districts Hardest 4 $ Cut per Student N Students in Poverty %Poverty Over $ districts 58.97% $500 to $ districts 46.99% $300 to $ districts 34.87% $150 to $ districts 22.82% Under $ districts 11.78% Note: Cuts include reductions in Basic Education, Accountability Block Grants, Reimbursement for Charter Schools, and Education Assistance Program from

5 5 Effects of Massive State Cuts 50% of districts raise elementary class sizes 27,000 positions cut statewide 416 school districts raise property taxes post 2010, at median of 6.6% increase [Need to UpdateTKTK] $570 million remain in cuts remain as Corbett leaves office

6 Local Effort is Not the Problem: Tredyffrin vs. Reading 6 Tredyffrin S.D. Tax rate: 11.9 mil Local tax revenue per child: $14,861 State per student contribution: $2,725 Total per student: $17,586 Reading S.D. Tax rate: 23.3 mil Local tax revenue per child: $2,267 State per student contribution: $8,955 Total per student: $11,222 Difference = $6,364

7 Tax Disparity in Delaware County 7 District Tax burden: Equalized Mills Revenue per Student Marple Newtown SD 12.6 $21, Radnor Township SD 13.8 $23, Rose Tree Media SD 16.6 $22, Chester-Upland SD 18.8 $17, Haverford Township SD 19.0 $17, Penn-Delco SD 19.7 $15, Springfield SD 20.8 $16, Garnet Valley SD 21.3 $18, Interboro SD 24.3 $17, Upper Darby SD 25.5 $13, Wallingford-Swarthmore SD 27.1 $19, Southeast Delco SD 28.7 $15, Ridley SD 28.9 $17, Chichester SD 30.4 $19, William Penn SD 32.8 $15,633.13

8 More? 8 Tredyffrin SD Reading SD 7.9% Students in Poverty 1.5% English Language Learners 81.8% Students in Poverty 19.6% English Language Learners

9 9 The Average vs. Disparity $20,000 $18,000 $17,409 $16,000 $14,000 $12,000 $10,000 $8,000 $6,000 $4,000 $2,000 $9,128 60% difference highest to lowest $6,324 $0 Average Mount Union Lower Merion SD

10 Tuition Costs at Area Private Schools 10 High School Tuition Per Year Episcopal Academy $34,095 Germantown Academy $33,395 Shipley School $37,200 Perelman (5th grade) $22,800 Haverford School $37,500 Barack Hebrew Academy $32,500 Friends Central $34,500 Malvern Prep $32,900 Merion Mercy $17,800 S.D. of Philadelphia $14,016 (note Philadelphia includes all revenues, including grants and donations, while private school numbers do not)

11 11 The Problem Pennsylvania School Funding: 1. Low state contribution 2. Most funding not based on formula 3. No goal of fully funding schools 4. Unfair property tax burdens

12 The movement towards adequacy study commissioned by the Legislature found $4.4 billion was needed to meet state proficiency standards. Gov. Rendell sets target of $2.4 billion and begins regular increases. Governor Corbett takes office and cuts $851 million dollars of education funding.

13 Does the Funding Formula Make the System Fair? No. 13 $3 Billion Funds Distributed through Old Formula $5.54 Billion Funds Disributed through Fair Funding Formula Minimum Missing Funds $352 Million

14 14 William Penn SD et al., v. PDE et al.: Petition Filed: November 2014 Court: Count I: Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth. -Article III, Section 14 Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Count II: Equal Protection

15 15 The Campaign for Fair Education Funding *Adequacy *Equity *Predictability *Accountability

16 The Accident of Birth: Lower Merion and Philadelphia Revenues Per Student (2015 Dollars) 16 $35, $30, $25, $20, $15, $10, $5, $0.00 Lower Merion Philadelphia