HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Pennsylvania's school funding trial is entering its fourth week today.

Testimony so far has provided an inside view into the difficult decisions educators in the state's low-wealth districts face with minimal resources. The Education Law Center, the Public Interest Law Center and O'Melveny law firm are representing schools and parents in the case, arguing the way schools are funded in the state violates the education clause and the equal-protection provision of the state constitution.

Deborah Gordon Klehr, executive director of the Education Law Center, said testimony last week from superintendents showed when districts are underfunded, some students will be left behind when making hard financial choices.

"We heard from a school district that has 1,200 students in its elementary school, but there are only two reading specialists," Gordon Klehr noted. "So when the state does not provide these poor school districts with adequate funding, they're forced into making unimaginable choices."

Pennsylvania ranks 45th for the share of K-12 school funding provided by the state. The trial continues this week with witnesses including officials from the School District of Lancaster and the deputy secretary for the state Office of Child Development and Early Learning.

Susan Spicka, executive director of Education Voters of Pennsylvania, said as a result of receiving less funding from the state, districts are expected to rely on support locally through property taxes. But she pointed out it can be a challenge, as evidenced by last week's testimony from Greater Johnstown Superintendent Amy Arcurio, who said the most recent property tax increase led to less funding for the district than before.

"State lawmakers for years have said everything that is going on in our school districts is the result of local decision-making," Spicka observed. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to break this logjam in Harrisburg that has allowed the legislature to continually underfund their schools."

Pennsylvania public schools are $4.6 billion short of a state benchmark for adequate funding, according to Penn State professor Matt Kelly, who testified in the trial in November. The trial is expected to continue through January.

The first week of May is designated as Teacher Appreciation Week in the United States.

The push to honor teachers started in 1953 when First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt persuaded Congress that there needed to be a specific day to recognize educators for their hard work. Students and parents often give teachers small gifts this week, and many retailers are offering special deals and discounts to educators.

Jennifer Easley, president of the Texas PTA, said the best way to honor teachers is to stand up for their rights.

"I think the biggest thing we can do to show them appreciation is to be advocating for them year-round - not only for public school funding, so that teachers and staff can get the compensation that they deserve, but also to make sure that they're getting the two-way respectful communication they are craving and deserve," she said.

Easley added improving working conditions for teachers will also encourage more young people to enter the profession and keep more seasoned educators in the classroom.

The Texas PTA was formed in 1970 when the "Texas Congress of Mothers" and the "Texas Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers" combined efforts to improve the state's education system. It's the second-largest state PTA in the nation, with more than 2,000 chapters across the state. Easley said throughout the years, the organization's mission has remained the same: to improve the lives of teachers, students and families.

"And they are able to facilitate conversations on their campuses with their parents. And as far as engagement goes, I mean, our PTAs are there to try to provide opportunities to bring parents to the table, " she explained.

Easley added a person does not have to be a parent or have a child enrolled in school to join a local PTA chapter. Membership is open to anyone who cares about young people and their futures.


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The shortage of educators and school staffers has reached a crisis level in some Pennsylvania public schools, prompting a new "Educators Rising" program, which aims to recruit future educators from local high schools.

Ten schools are already participating, with students attending the Central Westmoreland Career and Technology Center to develop teaching skills.

Donna Rain-O'Dell, workforce education coordinator at the center, said in the "Grow Your Own" program at Mount Pleasant High School, the students gain hands-on experience by observing and assisting teachers in classrooms a couple of days a week.

"We actually have some of our students going into classrooms that are teaching small group or mini-lessons," Rain-O'Dell explained. "Like, one student is teaching Spanish I, when she's a Spanish III student; and then we have a student, that's in AP Bio that's helping with the biology class. So it's kind of cool, and it's definitely a unique situation."

She pointed out next year, they will start their first "college in high school" course at the University of Pittsburgh Greensburg campus. Keystone State schools are struggling to fill more than 5,500 vacant teaching positions.

Rena Enterline, vocational rehabilitation counselor for the center, said they partner with The Learning Lamp and Shippensburg University and students can earn nine credits toward higher education.

"That is more of a dual-enrollment type class," Enterline noted. "They will take classes through Shippensburg University, and they'll actually get a transcript through them. And then, they can take those credits and use them at any university that will accept them when they decide to go to college."

Enterline added current seniors will not have been in the program for two years but can still use the credits they earn this year through the dual enrollment opportunity.

Amanda Funk, CTE instructor at McCaskey High School in Lancaster, said hers is the only Lancaster County high school to have an in-house career and technology program. It attracts a diverse group of students who help out in elementary schools as juniors and seniors, eventually extending to middle schools.

"The goal is to bring them back and they get a guaranteed interview after college in our district and then they'll have that added support," Funk stressed. "Part of our job description is to actually mentor them through their college years. And then once they come back and get a job in our district, to mentor them there as well."

Funk added one lesson in the Educators Rising curriculum focuses on anti-bias instruction. She observed students have personally thanked her for classroom discussions on the topic.


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Lagging salaries have meant teachers in Ohio and across the nation are experiencing a 5% drop in purchasing power, according to a new report by the National Education Association.

Last year, state lawmakers approved a 17% raise to the base annual salary for teachers, from $30,000 to $35,000 and agreed to fund the second phase of the state's Fair School Funding Plan.

Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, said the changes are silver linings but argued Ohio has more work to do to alleviate shortages and retain educators in the field, emphasizing state investment for teacher pay should be a priority.

"I think there's a disproportionately high reliance on local revenues," DiMauro explained. "That would be dollars that come from local tax levies, as opposed to from the state to fund our public schools. "

Around the country, 1,300 school districts around the country saw starting teacher salaries reach or surpass $40,000 during the last academic year, Nearly 500 school districts now pay beginning teachers a starting salary of at least $60,000 annually, according to the report.

DiMauro added collective bargaining states continue to rank highest in the nation when it comes to educator salaries. The starting salary of teachers in states with a bargaining law is around $1,600 more than in states without a bargaining law and top pay is more than $1,200 higher.

"That's not by accident," DiMauro asserted. "Collective bargaining states have average salaries that are 26% higher than non-collective bargaining states."

According to the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, teacher pay has sharply declined compared with the pay of other college-educated workers. On average, teachers made around 26% less than similarly educated professionals in 2022, the lowest level since 1960.