{"id":129724,"date":"2026-03-04T22:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/129724\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T22:00:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:00:07","slug":"philadelphia-school-district-and-teachers-union-officials-call-for-education-funding-boost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/129724\/","title":{"rendered":"Philadelphia school district and teachers union officials call for education funding boost"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter<\/a> to keep up with the city\u2019s public school system.<\/p>\n

Teacher union leaders and city officials have vehemently fought the Philadelphia school district for weeks over its proposal to close 18 schools<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But on Wednesday, union, city, and school district officials stood side by side to call for more state funding for Pennsylvania\u2019s largest school district. Together, they urged state lawmakers to pass Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s budget proposal, released last month, which would boost funding for Philadelphia schools by $151 million<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With more state funding, \u201cwe can move beyond difficult conversations about scarcity,\u201d said Deputy Superintendent Jermaine Dawson at the union-sponsored event at Lankenau Environmental Science High School, which is on the list of proposed closures. \u201cAnd then we can focus squarely on accelerating academic achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Superintendent Tony Watlington has said he does not want to close schools. But he has said the proposed closures, which the Board of Education has not yet approved<\/a>, are necessary to ensure students no longer attend class in dilapidated buildings and have more access to academic opportunities. <\/p>\n

The district\u2019s funding problems seem to be the one thing everyone can agree on throughout closure debates. Repairing the district\u2019s aging buildings would cost millions the district does not have. Already, the district is projecting a $300 million budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.<\/p>\n

In addition to opposing the closure plan, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has called for more transparency about the data the district used to determine which schools to shutter. But on Wednesday, President Arthur Steinberg had a separate priority.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will pick up the debate over the facilities plan another day,\u201d said Steinberg, \u201cToday, we are unified in saying to the General Assembly they are constitutionally obligated to fund our schools fairly and equitably.\u201d<\/p>\n

We’re here to help.<\/p>\n

Every day, Chalkbeat Philadelphia reporters are answering your questions, following the money, and digging into what’s happening in the city’s public schools. Keep up with our free newsletter, delivered every Wednesday and Friday morning.<\/p>\n

The Philadelphia school district is the only district in the state that cannot raise its own revenue through taxes. It has endured decades of underfunding under a state funding formula that a judge ruled was unconstitutional in 2023. <\/p>\n

Though the legislature has boosted school funding every year since then, districts still get millions fewer dollars<\/a> than what a state commission determined is needed to adequately meet all students\u2019 needs. Last year, a months-long state budget delay also required the Philadelphia district to take out loans to stay afloat<\/a>, costing it thousands in interest.<\/p>\n

In recent years, the city has slightly increased district funding<\/a>, and Mayor Cherelle Parker has promised an additional increase in 2030<\/a>. But in the meantime, the cost of maintaining and fixing old buildings \u2014 many of which have flaking asbestos and lead paint \u2014 is mounting.<\/p>\n

Even members of the City Council, who grilled school district officials last month about the closure plan<\/a>, acknowledged that the state\u2019s history of underfunding the Philadelphia school district has contributed to the building problems officials are now trying to solve. <\/p>\n

Education Committee Chair Isaiah Thomas opposes the district\u2019s closure plan. District officials recently removed one school he\u2019s strongly supported, Conwell Middle School, from its closure list. Thomas is an alumnus of Conwell, although Watlington has denied playing favorites.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Thomas said he stood with the Lankenau community in fighting to keep their school open. But he also pointed out that the state\u2019s long-term disinvestment in Philly\u2019s schools has strained both the district\u2019s and the city\u2019s finances. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not right, it\u2019s not fair,\u201d said Thomas. \u201cIt has put us in a position for well over a decade to be constantly in the red as it relates to public education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rep. Morgan Cephas, who chairs the Philadelphia House delegation in the state legislature, said at Wednesday\u2019s event she would urge her colleagues to pass a state budget that boosts funding for the city\u2019s schools, although the issue could come down to Senate Republicans. <\/p>\n

Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia\u2019s free newsletter to keep up with the city\u2019s public school system. Teacher union…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129725,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[7623,60296,539,28,69,60297,71,70,7625,3315],"class_list":["post-129724","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-chalkbeat","tag-lankenau-environmental-high-school","tag-pa","tag-pennsylvania","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-federation-of-teachers-and-the-school-district-of-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news","tag-philly","tag-students"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129724","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129724"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129724\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129724"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129724"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129724"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}