HARRISBURG (February 2, 2016) – The Campaign for Fair Education Funding issued the following statement on Gov. Tom Wolf’s basic education funding budget announcement today:

“We are pleased that Governor Wolf is continuing his commitment to public schools by calling for an increase of $377 million in the current fiscal year to begin fixing our broken school funding system,” said Charlie Lyons, spokesman for the Campaign. “Overall state education funding has been inadequate in providing what students need to achieve state educational standards, and that would be an essential first step.

“We need multiple years of increased investment and a permanent, student-driven funding formula,” said Lyons. “We support the Governor’s proposal to distribute education funding in fiscal year 2016-17 using the new funding formula proposed by the Basic Education Funding Commission. But the $200 million increase proposed by the Governor for next year does not keep us on track toward the long-term goal. We urge the Governor and legislature to increase that amount when enacting a final budget for the next fiscal year.”

In a memo to the Governor and General Assembly yesterday, the Campaign urged lawmakers to (1) adopt the fair funding formula recommended by the bipartisan Basic Education Funding Commission (BEFC), (2) bring the state’s increased allocation for basic education funding for the current fiscal year to at least $350 million to help schools recover from past funding shortfalls and begin implementing the formula, and (3) build on that investment by including $400 million more in the FY2016-17 budget.

“Our Campaign will continue to work with the Governor and the legislature to enact a school funding system that ensures every public school student can receive a quality education no matter where that student lives,” Lyons said.

The Campaign for Fair Education Funding consists of more than 50 organizations representing educators, faith-based organizations, children’s advocates, business leaders, and representatives of charter schools and rural, urban and suburban school districts across Pennsylvania.

For more information, visit www.fairfundingpa.org.

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