Dive Brief:
Advocacy groups like Public Citizens for Children and Youth (PCCY) and faith-based organizing group POWER are planning events around Pennsylvania’s Basic Education Funding Commission’s Tuesday meeting in Philadelphia.

The legislative body has been hosting meetings around the state to discuss more equitable ways to divvy up school aid.

Grassroots organizations have become increasingly visible in the saga over Pennsylvania’s education funding. Recently, a number of districts, parents, and the state’s NAACP chapter filed a lawsuit against Gov. Tom Corbett, state education officials, and legislative leaders, alleging the state violated its constitution by failing to provide adequate education for its students.

Dive Insight:
The lawsuit was based on the state’s school funding formula, which the plaintiffs claimed doesn’t allow for necessary resources to be purchased and discriminates against low-income neighborhoods. Pennsylvania is one of only a few states that don’t have a funding formula system in place, which means there is often a heavy reliance on property taxes. According to Philly.com, the gap in per-pupil spending ranges from $9,800 to $28,400 depending on where a student lives.

While Philadelphia Public Schools did not participate in the lawsuit, it doesn’t mean the city hasn’t felt the economic crunch. In fact, the lawsuit noted that Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. publicly decried the district’s sparsely staffed buildings, which he said were “insufficient to provide students an adequate education.” Over the summer, Philadelphia cut $32 million from its school budget in order to start classes on time, and the city also closed over 30 schools in the past few years, cutting about 5,000 jobs.

Education Dive – November 17, 2014 – Read article online