Pottstown Mercury by Evan Brandt
[email protected]
@PottstownNews on Twitter February 5, 2021
Pottstown Schools Superintendent Stephen Rodriguez does not want to lose the momentum of the moment. Rodriguez, who is also the president of the Pennsylvania League of Urban Schools, said he was elated when Gov. Tom Wolf announced his educational budget priorities in a speech Wednesday. "I am 100 percent in support of any proposal that provides more resources for our students and our community," Rodriguez said.
Widely leaked details about a major infusion of funding proposals for public education turned out to be true beyond Rodriguez's expectations. Among other things, Wolf has proposed funneling all state education funding through the five-year-old fair funding formula which would double the amount of state aid Pottstown and other under-funded schools receive — an increase of more than $13 million. Studies in recent years have used the fair-funding formula to uncover not only how Pennsylvania's education funding is skewed to favor wealthier districts, but also how it favors districts with whiter school populations.
Rodriguez pointed out that "52 percent of Pennsylvania students attend an under-funded school district." He said urban school districts with the most "Black and brown students have been undermined by Pennsylvania's unfair education funding for too long."
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE STORY IN THE POTTSTOWN MERCURY