04/29/2020
With the downturn in the economy due to COVID-19, there's talk of government budget cuts. Here in Pennsylvania there are rumors that state funding for public education could be cut by several billion dollars. Yes, that's a B. To make things worse, PA's public school funding system is already the most inequitable. That's not a distinction of which to be proud. And the thing is, cuts to public education have a wide-ranging impact. In my school district (https://www.upperdarbysd.org/), salaries account for approx. 75% of our annual budget. And that doesn't include salaries for contracted workers. These salaries go to everyday Americans. But at least as important as hurting our employees, budget cuts hurt our students. Our students are our future. Think about it.
At the heart of public education in America is local control. Local school boards know best how the residents of their districts would like the impact of a downturn in the economy addressed. The one-size-fits-all type of solutions being proposed at the state level (at least in PA) take away this local control. And in PA, the state funding inequities mean that less-well-off-communities have older facilities that require larger maintenance & repair budgets that cause more impact if cut. If you care about this please contact your elected officials! Don't know who they are? Well, imagine that - you can find a handy site to look them up here: https://secure.everyaction.com/p/VwRNjx4BCEmZoQNE0k3Vmg2?submit=Look+up+your+legislator (works for any zip code in the US, I think). Don't want to do that? You can find additional suggested activities to support public education here: https://www.pccy.org/take-action/ .
Public education needs you! Now!
OK - I'll get off my soapbox now
PRESS RELEASE - Upper Darby School DistrictI Receives Pennsylvania Department of Education's Continuity of Education Equity