The William Penn School District won a court case two years ago ordering the state to bring more funding to the struggling school district. Yet, William Penn remains underfunded, writes Maddie Hanna for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
A Commonwealth Court judge ruled that Pennsylvania was in violation of its own constitution when it deprived poorer school districts like William Penn of the funds it needed to educate its students.
The state did change its funding system—increased funding followed many districts across the state, including William Penn.
However, the district has only received the first-year installment of nine, which ultimately boosts school funding by $4.5 billion.
So now, William Penn has a $6 million budget deficit. It has already halved its academic interventionists for struggling students, and it’s proposing to raise taxes by nearly 6 percent.
“With this size of a shortfall, there will be significant reductions we will have to make,” said district Superintendent Eric Becoats.
For William Penn, the funding fix is not happening fast enough to cope with rising costs.
The next installment of state funds is included in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed 2025-26 state budget.
Find out more about the state’s funding formula and the issues impacting William Penn School District in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
