SCRANTON, Pa. — Governor Tom Wolf's new budget proposal focused heavily on funding for public school education.
"We will be able to fully and fairly fund every school in every school district in every part of the Commonwealth. Putting all of this funding through the Fair Funding Formula means that struggling schools will finally get the resources they need without taking away from schools that are already being adequately funded," he said in his virtual address Wednesday morning.
In his plan, the fair funding formula directs state money to school districts based on many factors, including student enrollment and needs.
"I think the education funding really isn't fair for a lot of school districts. I think it's time to make it fair so that all students have the same opportunities and have a level playing field so that they can become their best selves," said Bill Leonard. Leonard's 12-year-old daughter is a student at Northeast Intermediate.
With the revamped funding formula, the Scranton School District could see an increase of about $39 million for the 2021/2022 fiscal year. That's an increase of almost 86% from 2019/2020.
"Certainly, that kind of influx in the basic education funding is going to open up options and opportunities to us, but we still have a significant deficit," said Scranton School Board President Katie Gilmartin.
Gilmartin says the district has to be realistic but that the proposed numbers are encouraging.
"Once we know those actual numbers, we will be able to assess to impacts and what changes will need to be addressed," she said.
Governor Wolf says the greatest barrier for families is access to education, but those barriers can be lifted this year.
"High-quality education is the ticket to greater opportunity for our children. Without it, how can we hope that our kids are going to be able to lead better lives than we did?" Gov. Wolf said.