Welcome to “By The Book: PGH K-12 Bulletins,” which provides updates on emerging and ever changing news in the Pittsburgh K-12 education landscape. With more than 40 school districts across Allegheny County, the Bulletins will update you on the region’s latest education news, including close coverage of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, other Allegheny County school districts, the Pennsylvania Department of Education and other important agencies, which serve thousands of Pittsburgh families. Please check back frequently and email tylisa@publicsource.org with questions, tips or Bulletin ideas. Follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #PGHed for news updates on Pittsburgh education.
06/30/21: New state budget funnels millions to public education
The 2021-22 state budget signed by Gov. Tom Wolf injects millions of dollars into public schools, including special education and historically underfunded districts.
The budget is a far cry from what advocates were pushing for, which included the use of budget surplus funds to make a substantial investment in districts looking for assistance with rapidly rising mandated costs and recovery from the impacts of the pandemic.
“Like pennies from heaven, budget negotiators had an almost magical opportunity to shatter the systemic inequities plaguing PA school districts,” advocacy coalition PA Schools Work said in a statement. “Yet they passed up that opportunity.”
Some notable education investments from the budget:
- $200 million increase in the Fair Funding Formula
- $100 million to support historically underfunded school districts
- $50 million in special education funding
- $30 million for early education
Courtroom 3002: Fight for fair education sees its day in court this September
A 2014 lawsuit against Pennsylvania leaders and education officials that alleges they are failing to supply enough funds for an equitable, high-quality public education system for students statewide will have its day in court in September.
Courtroom 3002 will house the trial set to begin on Sept. 9 at the Pennsylvania Judicial Center in Harrisburg, per a Commonwealth Court order released in late June. Commonwealth Court Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer will preside over the case and said at a June pre-trial conference she expects the livestreamed trial to be held five days a week.
Multiple public school parents, school districts and organizations first filed the class-action suit against the governor, state education officials and state legislative leaders, asserting that inequality fueled by an underfunded system discriminates against students in poorer communities.
- With only about 38% of public education costs covered by the state, Pennsylvania lags behind most states. Advocates have long decried state spending on education, claiming that the lack of state funding means schools rely more heavily on local wealth, which results in deep inequalities that disproportionately impact Black and brown students.
- Close to 90% of Pennsylvania students attend underfunded schools, according to a calculation by Penn State Professor Matthew Kelly, which found that schools needed an extra $4.6 billion for students to have a chance at reaching state academic standards.
- Black and Latino students are concentrated in the state’s least wealthy districts, with 50% of Black students and 40% of Latino students attending schools in the lowest 20% of local wealth, according to advocacy groups.
Those who filed the class-action lawsuit are represented by the Public Interest Law Center, the Education Law Center and O’Melveny & Myers LLP.
TyLisa C. Johnson covers education for PublicSource. She can be reached at tylisa@publicsource.org.
06/17/21: Staff shortages at PPS’ Summer BOOST, district may cut more than 1,000 students
Pittsburgh Public Schools officials may need to cut more than 1,000 students enrolled in its summer learning program to adjust for staffing shortages.
The district announced Wednesday the kick-off of its Summer B.O.O.S.T. program, which was set to begin on June 22, would be postponed a week due to staffing shortages and will now begin on June 28. The program will finish on Aug. 4, which didn’t change, and is anticipated to serve students four days each week when it begins.
“After several attempts to recruit staff and adjust the program model, we are forced to take steps to reduce the number of students we will be able to serve as part of our Summer BOOST program,” Superintendent Anthony Hamlet said in a release.
The district currently has 120 staffers for the program and needs an additional 127 to serve the originally planned 2,500 students this summer.
Students will be prioritized by need as reductions are made, the district said. Families will know their camp status by June 18. Summer B.O.O.S.T. offers programming for students in kindergarten through 11th grade.
District spokesperson Ebony Pugh said the district is shifting staff roles in some cases to cover shortages and considering different ways to incentivize staff. Pugh said the district is still receiving applications for new staff members, as recent as Wednesday, but that it takes about three weeks for an outside applicant to be onboarded and ready to staff the program.
Summer programs across Allegheny County and the country have experienced similar summer program staffing shortages, following a year that left many educators exhausted or burnt out.
TyLisa C. Johnson covers education for PublicSource. She can be reached at tylisa@publicsource.org.
