Education
Currently, only 17% of Pennsylvania's education funding for k-12 goes through the updated fair funding formula. We need to fully implement the formula to 100% of the state education dollars to eliminate an unjust system that has been proven to be detrimental to our children’s education, and which benefits those from higher-income zip codes. My work and experience on the school board give me a crucial insight into how to make these changes a reality. For far too long, our students have been on the receiving end of an unfair system that is dependent on property taxes to fund our schools, rather than accessibility for every child to obtain a well-rounded, high-quality education regardless of their address.
The Level Up initiative provides much needed relief to the 100 poorest school districts in PA. It is my priority to continue to advocate for the most vulnerable students by making sure they have the resources needed to succeed. Pennsylvania has a bipartisan formula that equitably funds school districts across the state, but we don't fund the formula, and this leads to a lack of education funding from the state. I've seen the effects of this firsthand and the pandemic has brought light to many of these inequities and the children of PA need these support services now more than ever.