Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro will unveil his first budget proposal to the General Assembly on Tuesday.
Many eyes will be on his response to a court ruling on educational funding.
A Commonwealth Court judge ruled last month that the current funding for the state’s government schools violates the state constitution because of funding inequality. Lawyers argued that the education funding relies disproportionately on property taxes, a system which they said leads to better educational outcomes for students in wealthy areas.
Judge Renée Cohn Jubelirer agreed in her ruling. “The disparity among school districts with high property values and incomes and school districts with low property values and incomes is not justified by any compelling government interest nor is it rationally related to any legitimate government objective,” she said.
No specific direction was given in the judge’s ruling, leaving question marks for how Shapiro and legislators will address the issue. Last year, the state budget included over $7 billion for basic education funding.
Shapiro is also expected to focus on “investing in local communities and revitalizing Main Streets,” according to Penn Live. Shapiro also shared that the budget will include a bigger investment in child care.
