The school districts are all represented by Democrats in the state legislature.
Pennsylvania’s state budget included additional funding for several school districts in the Commonwealth for the third year in a row. Each of those districts are represented by Democrats in the state legislature.
A total of $8 million is set to go to four school districts for the 2026-2027 school year, on top of what they receive through the state’s basic education formula and newer adequacy formula.
Democratic lawmakers say the extra funding is a result of financial challenges the school districts are facing, not partisanship.
House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford) said “that’s not something that we normally look at” when asked in a recent interview whether he advocated for funding increases for struggling school districts represented by Republicans in Harrisburg.
“There are always those kind of provisions that are inserted [in the budget]. That’s not something I want to see. I want to redo the entire way we fund education and the adequacy formula. I’m not thrilled with any of them,” Topper continued.
With additional funding being allocated in the past three state budgets, experts have concerns over the effectiveness of the formulas the state is using to calculate how much each school district receives.
“I don’t think that there is a perfect formula out there that fits all,” said Edward Albert, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small School Districts, in a recent statement.
“We’re rejoicing this year with what we got in the budget, but I have superintendents emailing me saying, ‘I didn’t get anything,’” he continued.
“If you’re looking at the bigger picture from 30,000 feet up, Democrats are obviously gonna want more money, and obviously Republicans are a little more conservative. The whole thing is not black and white,” he added.
Muhlenberg School District in Bucks County received an additional $2.5 million in the budget. The district is represented by Rep. Jacklyn Rusnock (D-Berks).
The school district has been struggling financially, and Rusnock asked for additional funding when the formula didn’t yield the best results.
“The way I look at it, we’re bringing in additional funding that focuses on the district’s needs, and it’s also not placing an additional burden on the local taxpayers. This is something that I’ve been working with leadership on since December,” Rusnock said in a recent statement.
She said she was unaware that only school districts represented by Democrats were receiving additional funding from this year’s state budget.
“I didn’t realize that had happened. I can only speak for myself. I am an advocate of public education. I’m a product of education. I taught in the public education system. I just think it’s really important our school districts are getting what they need… I can’t really speak to why it would be a Democrat or Republican issue.”
The Steelton-Highspire School District, represented by Rep. Dave Madsen (D-Dauphin), will be receiving an additional $1 million in state appropriations.
“It is a very unique situation when you have such a small population that has the conditions they have in terms of their tax base. I don’t see how they could overcome it without some sort of additional help, and that was the case I made to leadership,” he said.
The Morrisville-Borough School District in Bucks County will be receiving an additional $3.5 million. The Whitehall-Coplay School District in Lehigh County will be receiving an additional $1 million.
Last year, only one district received additional funding outside of what is appropriated by the state formula.
