HARRISBURG — Proposed spending on public education would again grow as part of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s latest budget pitch for Pennsylvania, but sought-after increases on school expenses are tempered.
Sought-after funding to enact school choice, a priority for Republicans, isn’t included in Shapiro’s proposal despite past statements of support and didn’t get a mention during the governor’s budget address.
It’s ultimately up to Pennsylvania’s divided Legislature, led by the respective Democratic and Republican majorities in the House and Senate, to negotiate with the governor to finalize a spending plan by July 1.
The formula Pennsylvania had used to fund public schools was ruled unconstitutional by a state appellate court ahead of Shapiro taking office in 2023, spurring the creation of a new formula designed to be more equitable for poorer school districts where state funding had been found to be inadequate.
It kicked off an ongoing effort to boost public school spending by billions across multiple budgets.
Shapiro’s plan for 2025-26 doesn’t match the $1.4 billion increase for basic education, adequacy funds and special education adopted for the current year. It does seek to add $526 million in adequacy funding, matching this year’s increase already in place for hundreds of schools, through the Ready to Learn Block Grant program.
Basic education subsidies for all schools would grow by $75 million to eclipse $8.2 billion, an increase below 1% that falls behind the current year’s increase of $285 million. Special education funding would rise by $40 million to top $1.5 billion total, an increase of less than half the $100 million added for 2024-25.
“But there’s still work to do before we can say we’ve met our constitutional obligation,” Shapiro said during his address, highlighting the adequacy funding. “This budget also continues our support for school repairs, mental health, free breakfast, student-teacher stipends, special education and more. What we’re doing for education is working — let’s continue to build on this foundation we’ve laid.”
After his address, Senate Republicans didn’t share in the enthusiasm.
Updated data shows Pennsylvania students made year-to-year gains in the statewide assessments on science and math but dipped in English, and compared to pre-pandemic levels there remain large gaps in performance on standardized exams.
Republicans continue to press for Lifeline Scholarships, a targeted school voucher program for students in the lowest-performing schools. Two existing tax credit programs supporting private school scholarships and tuition assistance weren’t tabbed for a funding increase, either.
“He talked a lot about education. Some of it’s good. We still have failing schools. We didn’t hear a word about those kids trapped in failing schools,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland, a reference to school choice. “We’re going to work to deliver educational opportunities for every child.”
Schools could see substantial savings for local reinvestment should Shapiro’s call for cyber charter school reforms be heeded by the Legislature.
Rather than a system of fluctuating student tuition costs from one cyber school to the next — costs paid by local school districts — the governor proposes the adoption of a standard base cyber charter tuition rate of $8,000. The end result will be a combined annual savings of $378 million for public schools, according to Shapiro’s proposal.
School districts could also see added support for facility improvements. The governor’s proposal seeks an increase of $25 million in 2025-26, reaching a total of $125 million annually, to invest in roofing and plumbing repairs, for example, through an established grant program.
Mental health supports in schools would be invested at $111 million.
Universal free school breakfast would continue under the proposed terms of Shapiro’s budget. According to the governor’s administration, more than 91.4 million breakfast meals were served in schools last year, a reported increase of nearly 10 million meals.
Dual enrollment programs for career and technical education would be maintained at $7 million while the overall spend on tech-ed would grow by $5.5 million.
Workforce initiatives within public education would continue as Shapiro seeks to double the state investment in the newly instituted student-teacher stipends, raising program spending to $40 million. Professional development for teachers would rise by $2.5 million, spending on Pre-K Counts would rise by $15 million for improved wages, and Early Intervention would see an additional $10 million to increase provider rates.
“We commend Gov. Shapiro’s remarkably strong commitment to public education,” said Aaron Chapin, president of the Pennsylvania State Education Association. “While there’s no doubt that legislators, advocates, parents, and others will debate about specific line items in the proposal, the governor has absolutely knocked this budget out of the park.”
Child care centers would be eligible to share in $55 million to recruit and retain teachers, providing about $1,000 more each year to workers at licensed centers that are part of the Child Care Works program.
Investments would grow for higher education in Pennsylvania, too.
Pennsylvania now has a State Board of Higher Education, created as part of the current budget. While direct stipends are proposed to be level for state-related universities Penn State, Pittsburgh and Temple, Shapiro proposes $60 million for the three to be distributed based on a new performance measure rather than an allocation request. Lincoln University, substantially smaller than the others, is not included as part of this initiative for state-related schools.
Pennsylvania’s system of state-owned colleges and universities, the State System of Higher Education, is proposed to receive $40.4 million more to help keep tuition flat for the eighth straight year. Spending at the commonwealth’s community colleges is proposed to grow by $13 million.