Education Advocacy

Subject: Community Invitation and Update: Budget & Finance Committee Meeting on May 22

Hello,

The William Penn School District invites all families, staff, and community members to attend the Budget and Finance Committee Meeting on Thursday, May 22 at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. Please find the meeting link here, and meeting materials will be posted on BoardDocs 24 hours in advance.

This meeting comes at a critical time. The 2025–2026 Pennsylvania state budget is still being negotiated in Harrisburg, and the outcomes will have a significant impact on public schools across the Commonwealth, especially underfunded districts like William Penn.

School districts are required to pass their own budgets before the state budget is finalized. That means we must plan without knowing how much funding we will receive, making it difficult to preserve programs, staffing, and services that our students depend on. We are faced with making cuts if we do not get the funds we need to meet our expenses. Our students deserve the best, and in order to provide them with what they need to succeed, our elected officials have to do their part.

We encourage you to attend this meeting, ask questions, and stay informed. Strong community engagement helps ensure that our priorities are heard, both locally and in Harrisburg. Please reach out to our state elected officials and implore them to continue to fight for us and ensure that the funding that we are entitled to and has been promised is received. Learn more and find their contact information on our Education Advocacy web page.

Please share this information with others who care about our schools.

Sincerely,

Dr. Becoats

Dear WPSD community,

On May 6th, I had the honor of visiting the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg alongside fellow WPSD staff members, members of the Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council, and School Board Director Jennifer Hoff. We were invited as guests of Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, one of our district’s state representatives. During our visit, we toured the House floor, observed the legislature in session, and met with state representatives, including Regina Young, Gina Curry, and Heather Boyd.

Unfortunately, their outlook on the budget timeline was concerning as, once again, it is unlikely that a state budget will be finalized by the June 30 deadline. For districts like ours, this is the equivalent of being asked to plan an entire year’s household budget, including rent, food, transportation, and childcare, without knowing your income. It is impossible to make responsible decisions when you don’t know how much money you will have coming in and how much you have to spend.

Despite the Commonwealth Court ruling in 2023 that declared Pennsylvania’s school funding system unconstitutional, little progress has been made to address the $24 million adequacy gap identified for our district. For the 2025-26 school year, we are projecting a budget shortfall between $6 million and $14 million. Without adequate and predictable state funding, we are being forced to consider reductions to academic and extracurricular programs, student support services, facility maintenance, and staffing. And, unfortunately, we may have to ask more of our local taxpayers who already carry an inequitable share of the burden in communities like ours.

This is not right. It is not sustainable. And it is not how a state should treat its children. Pennsylvania legislators must act with urgency and integrity to fully and fairly fund our public schools.

While the visit to Harrisburg was inspiring for our students, it also underscored the urgent need for education and advocacy. I urge you to please stay informed and to speak up. Please visit the Education Advocacy page on our website for further details on how you can take action and demand the funding our students deserve. This page will continually be updated with additional information and resources for our community to reference and utilize.

Thank you for standing with us as we continue this critical fight for the future of our children and the schools they deserve.

Sincerely,

Dr. Becoats

Dear WPSD Families,

For years, Pennsylvania has underfunded public schools, and students in districts like William Penn have paid the price. In 2023, the state courts ruled that the school funding system is unconstitutional because it leaves students’ opportunities up to their zip code and not their potential.

To fix this, lawmakers created a new Fair Funding Plan to close the gap between what schools need and what they receive. But this plan requires long-term commitment, and we’re only at the beginning.

As you can see in the graphic below, it was determined that there was a total adequacy gap of $28,973,481 for WPSD due to unfair funding. After last year’s installment of $3.1 million, we are left with a remaining gap of $25.8 million. There is a proposed installment of $3.1 million for the 2025-2026 school year, and again, this is woefully short of what the state says we should have to properly educate our students. (See the full flier here.)

Governor Shapiro’s plan gives us hope, but it’s not guaranteed, and it requires action from lawmakers every single year. That’s why we’re asking for your help in the following ways.

• Contact our state lawmakers and tell them why fair funding for WPSD matters to your family. Please see a list of our WPSD elected officials here.
• Join advocacy events organized by Children First, a statewide group fighting for school funding. View their flier to sign up.
• Share your story — let neighbors, friends, and leaders know that strong schools build strong communities.

Together, we can make sure Harrisburg delivers the resources our students need and deserve – NOW. They should not have to wait any longer. Thank you for your support and advocacy.

Sincerely,
Dr. Becoats

Dear WPSD families,

As a result of the business office preparing for our 2024 fiscal year annual audit, we have identified a number of increased costs. These include an increase of students who require special education services, a rise of out-of-district transportation and third-party transportation for students with special needs, and unanticipated maintenance to our buildings. As a result, our district is facing a $5.1 deficit as of June 20, 2024 and is projecting an additional $4.5 million shortfall for the 2024-2025 school year.

The additional dollars received from the state for the 2024-2025 school year were not considered as this discovery was identified after the budget process. Funds for the 2024-2025 school year were used to pay for raises for WPEA, maintain the number of secondary teachers over the class size allocation calculation, and hire additional Instructional Assistants (IAs).

To address the budget deficit, we have implemented new financial controls and processes to manage spending more effectively. These include:

Monthly reconciliation of expenses and contracts
Optimizing transportation routes
Limiting non-essential repairs and purchases
Additionally, we have identified cost-cutting measures that will help reduce the impact on our budget, such as eliminating vacant positions and scaling back discretionary and central office supply budgets.

For further updates, please join us at the Budget & Finance Committee meeting on November 6th on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. You can find the link to the meeting here. Thank you for your continued dedication and support as we navigate these challenges.

Sincerely,

Robert Kaufmann
Business Administrator
William Penn School District

Hello,

When Governor Shapiro delivered his 2024-25 budget address on February 6th to the Pennsylvania House and Senate, he demonstrated his belief in the children of the William Penn School District and in the entire Commonwealth. By including the full year-one recommendation from the Basic Education Funding Commission in his budget, we are on the path to provide resources for our children that have long been deferred. If carried out over seven years, this plan would be the end of our students living by the unacceptable slogan “do more with less.” These funds will allow us to provide additional teachers and support services (counselors, social workers and health therapists) to the schools and students that most deserve them.

An overview of the full budget address is included here, and these are a summary of his key points regarding education:

• A nearly $1.1 billion increase in basic education funding
• A $50 million increase for special education funding
• A continued $50 million annual investment in school safety and security improvements and $300 million in sustainable funding for environmental repair projects in school buildings
• A universal rate that school districts pay to cover tuition of students attending cyber charter schools.
• $10 million for the Educator Talent Recruitment Account and $450,000 to support the Talent Recruitment Office at the Pennsylvania Department of Education
• Increased funding for student teacher stipends by $5 million to a total of $15 million

I am hopeful that this budget passes. As we now wait for the budget process to continue, I encourage you to continue to reach out to our legislators and to Governor Shapiro to let them know that anything less than what he proposed is unacceptable. We will no longer deny our children the full and comprehensive education in 21st century buildings and facilities that they deserve. I will let you know if there are any further updates. Thank you as always for your support.

Sincerely,

Dr. Eric J. Becoats

Hello,

This is a very importan t week for public schools in Pennsylvania. February 7th is the one-year anniversary of the landmark ruling by the Commonwealth Court that declared that the funding of our public schools was unconstitutional. Since then, we have been eagerly and hopefully waiting for what comes next. The Basic Education Funding Commission recently put forth their proposal following a series of hearings around Pennsylvania, and Governor Josh Shapiro will give his budget address tomorrow, February 6th, to a joint session of the House and Senate at the Capitol Rotunda. Tune in to the live stream here beginning at 12:30 p.m.

You can find an overview of the proposed budget here, and Governor Shapiro will share more details tomorrow. As you can see, it is to include the “largest increase in basic education funding ever and historic investments in our schools.” I encourage you to read that section to learn about the increased basic education and Level Up funding as well as funds for universal free breakfast for public school students, dual enrollment opportunities for high school students, school-based mental health counselors, special education, and student teacher stipends.

To reach out to Governor Shapiro to advocate on behalf of the William Penn School District and public schools throughout Pennsylvania, please text 717-788-8990 or fill out the contact form here. Your voice matters, and after decades of unconstitutional funding, we have a lot of ground to make up. Please also follow the Education Advocacy page on our website for more information.

I thank you for your support of the William Penn School District as well as public schools throughout Pennsylvania. As the Commonwealth Court stated in its ruling: “All witnesses agree that every child can learn. It is now the obligation of the Legislature, Executive Branch, and educators, to make the constitutional promise a reality in this Commonwealth.”

I hope that Governor Shapiro and our state legislators meet their obligation and deliver on what our state constitution promises our children. They deserve no less.

Sincerely,

Dr. Eric J. Becoats

Hello,

I am writing to share another update regarding my January 11th email, which you can see below. We are awaiting Governor Shapiro to deliver his budget address around noon on Tuesday, February 6, 2024 from the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg.

I will definitely be tuned in. As I wrote previously, I am hopeful based on the Basic Education Funding Commission’s report that was approved on January 11. You can read a summary of what the Commission calls for here.

In the article Shapiro offers peek at 2024-2025 budget plan priorities (pennlive.com, 1/17/24), they write that, in regards to education, they expect Governor Shapiro to call for:

A significant increase in funding for public education while making sure money is targeted to historically underfunded school districts. This comes in the wake of a report from the Basic Education Funding Commission approved last week that calls for addressing the more than $5 billion in underfunding of public schools.

A significant increase is good, but I want the William Penn School District, and districts all around Pennsylvania, to receive FULL funding, as the Commission laid out in their report. Anything less, as the Commonwealth Court ruled last year, is unconstitutional.

That ruling was made on February 7, 2023. As we approach its one-year anniversary, I am hopeful that Governor Shapiro will offer a full solution to this.

However, I am also prepared to strongly advocate if that is not the outcome. Several people have reached out to ask what they can do to help us. The District is proudly partnering with WPEA and WPESPA to advocate together. We ask you to text/email Governor Shapiro to let him know that we will no longer settle for less – here are some resources that you can use to contact our Governor as well as share on social media. Please be vocal in your support and read up on what is happening during this process.

Thank you for reading, and I will be in touch with more information soon. In the meantime here are some recent articles regarding this process.

Rep. Jordan Harris: Before Pa. revisits voucher proposals it must address education inequality

School vouchers on conservative group’s budget wishlist for Gov. Shapiro
Poor schools are prepared to return to court if Pennsylvania budget falls short on funding plan

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Dr. Eric J. Becoats

Dear WPSD Team,

Today, the Basic Education Funding Commission held their final hearing in Harrisburg to release their findings in response to the Commonwealth Court’s ruling that found Pennsylvania’s public school funding unconstitutional.

The Commission held a vote on two proposed reports that recommend funding for Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts They voted 8-7 to accept this one that includes the   following recommendations:

1. Reduce the volatility in the basic education funding (BEF) formula by using three-year averages in certain data elements, lessening the concentrated poverty “cliff,” and resetting the base at the 2023/24 distribution level. Provide at least a $200 million increase through this updated BEF formula each year;

2. Calculate adequacy targets for each school district;

3. Reconstitute the next BEFC in 2029 per Act 51 of 2014;

4. Invest in school facilities;

5. Examine charter school funding;

6. Invest in our education workforce;

7. Invest in student supports; and

8. Consider other important education issues outside the direct scope of this BEFC.

This report is not binding, but we are very optimistic by the selection of this report. The full legislature will have to vote on the changes to school funding, and Governor Shapiro will need to sign them.

I hope you take some time to read through the report, and together, we can advocate for its passing. As you can see on page 61, having additional funds for the William Penn School District will have an incredible – and much needed – impact on our schools.

Sincerely,

Dr. Becoats