At long last, an equitable ruling on school funding. Change must now follow swiftly. | Editorial

A Commonwealth Court judge found what many have long said about the way Pennsylvania pays for K-12 public education: The state’s method of funding schools is unfair and inadequate. Even more egregious, it is unconstitutional.

Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer’s landmark 786-page decision is a long-overdue victory for students across the state — especially those in poorer rural and urban districts. It is also a triumph for justice, equality, and the rule of law.

However, when real change will come remains unclear.

After all, the lawsuit was first filed in 2014 and did not go to trial until November 2021. After three months of arguments, the ruling came a year later. The decision will likely be appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

That process could take another year or so. If the Supreme Court upholds the decision, it will be left to the General Assembly and Gov. Josh Shapiro to determine how to properly fund the schools, as the judge’s ruling did not prescribe a remedy.

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Kudos to the attorneys at the Education Law Center, the Public Interest Law Center, and the private firm of O’Melveny & Myers for their tenacity throughout the long legal process. They shined a light on the state’s inability to provide a “thorough and efficient” education for all children, as the Pennsylvania Constitution’s education clause requires.

Hurdles remain, but Shapiro and state lawmakers do not have to wait for the courts to tell them what is obvious to everyone: It is past time to properly fund public education for all students. As the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “The time is always right to do what is right.”

The price, though, will not be cheap. A Penn State professor’s analysis provided at the trial found it would take an additional $4.6 billion invested over time to adequately fund the schools. The entire state budget for 2022-23 is $45.2 billion.

In effect, to properly fund the schools, lawmakers would have to increase revenues by roughly 10%. Those revenues mainly come from three sources: sales taxes, personal income taxes, and corporate income taxes.

Republican lawmakers in Harrisburg will surely oppose tax increases and instead use the ruling to call for more school choice, which has failed to solve the state’s education woes.

The good news is Democrats control the state House, and Shapiro supports increasing education funding and making it more equitable for students in every zip code.

As state attorney general, Shapiro filed an amicus brief supporting the legal challenge to the current funding method. Shapiro’s brief said the “Commonwealth’s most fundamental need is an intelligent and informed citizenry, which will support our democratic institutions, grow our economy, and strengthen the foundations of our shared civic life.”

That cuts to the heart of the matter.

Pennsylvania does a good job of investing in the elderly. The state funds nursing homes, offers seniors property tax rebates, and earmarks lottery proceeds for a variety of programs that benefit senior citizens.

Now, Pennsylvania must also invest in its future.

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Research shows that states with well-educated workers have stronger economies. One study found increasing student achievement to basic mastery levels across the country would increase the nation’s gross domestic product by $32 trillion, or 14.6%.

There is also a clear correlation that shows investing in education lowers crime. Pennsylvania spends more than $42,000 a year, per inmate, to house people in prison. The state would be better off investing in education, thus reducing prison costs and the number of incarcerated individuals.

Pennsylvania has long lagged behind other states in terms of funding public schools and job growth. Students in poorer school districts especially lack many basic resources, including books, libraries, counselors, and even enough teachers.

The state’s uneven funding was underscored during the pandemic, when schools in poorer districts lacked resources to transition to online learning, leaving kids to fall further behind.

Republicans in Harrisburg have long ignored education as an investment. More than a decade ago, then-Gov. Tom Corbett slashed education funding statewide by $1 billion and crippled Philadelphia’s schools.

Doug Mastriano, last year’s Republican nominee for governor, wanted to eliminate property taxes and give parents vouchers for $9,000, which would have effectively cut education funding by a third. Voters ensured that disaster was averted.

But Republicans in Washington have also been hostile to public education for more than a generation. Former President Ronald Reagan promised to kill the U.S. Department of Education in 1980. Donald Trump repeatedly proposed cutting billions in funding meant for after-school programs, teacher training, and grants.

Starving education is a losing policy on many levels. Public education is a public good. Pennsylvania students have already waited too long for state leaders to do what is right.

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this editorial misidentified the main sources of state revenue that would be needed to properly fund public schools. They are sales taxes, personal income taxes, and corporate income taxes.