PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — As Pennsylvania state lawmakers and school district officials work through the details of a nearly 800-page school funding ruling from Commonwealth Court, they agree there are no easy fixes.
After a nearly eight-year court battle, Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer ruled that the disparity between the richest and poorest schools is unconstitutional and a violation of equal protections. The ruling said school districts are forced to rely too much on property taxes for funding.
Jubileer wrote that, as a result of those disparities, “Students attending low-wealth districts are being deprived of equal protection of law.”
Rep. Napoleon Nelson, D-Glenside, says the ruling forces the state legislature to address systemic issues, but solutions aren’t going to be easy.
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“For those who've been following the legislature, if you think this past two months has been exciting, wait until we have to figure out how in the world we respond to the opinion from this Commonwealth Court judge,” Nelson said.
Analysis presented at trial found Pennsylvania needs to pour in about $4.5 billion to properly fund schools.
State Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-Royersford, said the court decision should be a catalyst for significant change to how Pennsylvania funds education.
“It's time for us as elected officials to no longer bicker, to no longer send it back to the judiciary, to no longer kick the can, kick it down the lane,” said Ciresi. “It's time to take responsibility and fund public education.”
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“I am looking forward to working across the aisle, bicameral, with teachers, with parents with community leaders, to figure this out to solve the problem,” said state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, R-Red Hill.
There is the possibility the decision could be appealed the state Supreme Court. Norristown Area School District Superintendent Chris Dormer called on lawmakers to address what he calls a broken and inequitable system.
“The prior decade, we've had to raise property taxes over 30%, and that's an embarrassment. I think that speaks to the failure of the system,” said Dormer.
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Rep. Paul Friel, D-Chester County, said that simply adding major funding for schools would just be a patch.
“If we don't fundamentally change property tax being a part of that formula … all we're doing is temporary fixes that will reset themselves.”
Dormer said lawmakers need to start addressing the system now instead of wait for a final Supreme Court ruling.
“Though the legal road is most likely not at an end, the stories that were told throughout that process unequivocally demonstrate the need for change.”