2024-25 budget includes a historic $1.1 billion increase for K-12 education – the largest single-year investment in Commonwealth history – and drives those dollars out under a new adequacy formula to the schools that need it most.

Reading, PA – On Aug 9th, Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Education Secretary Dr. Khalid N. Mumin visited Amanda E. Stout Elementary in Reading to meet with students, teachers, and legislators to celebrate the historic investments in public K-12 education secured in the 2024-25 bipartisan budget – including the creation of a new adequacy formula to drive dollars to the public schools that need them most.

The 2024-25 budget(opens in a new tab) includes a historic $1.1 billion in total increases in K-12 public education funding, the largest year-over-year increase in Commonwealth history. This budget delivers significant progress on building strong and safe school communities, adequately and equitably funding public schools, supporting our teachers, and ensuring that every Pennsylvania child has the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed.

“In the bipartisan budget I signed into law last month, Pennsylvania will invest $11 billion in K-12 public education for our students and teachers — that’s $1.1 billion more than last year, a record amount. We came together to make the largest investment in K-12 public education in the Commonwealth’s history — because there is nothing more important than investing in our kids and their future — all while building on the progress we’ve made on student teacher stipends, mental health resources, and environmental school repairs,” said Governor Shapiro. “And we're not only delivering more funding, but also fixing how we drive out that money to our schools under a new formula that directs funding to the districts who need it most – the districts that have been chronically underfunded.”

Amanda E. Stout Elementary School is one of the schools that will benefit from the 2024-25 bipartisan budget’s investments and adequacy formula. The Reading School District is set to receive approximately $40 million more than last year thanks to this budget — and in April 2024, received a $325,389 grant for mental health supports from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD), the result of the Governor’s work to secure record funding for student mental health.

“I could not be happier to be back on my old home turf here in Reading with Governor Josh Shapiro. As I reflect on my time spent here in Reading as Superintendent, I can’t help but be amazed to see how much things have changed in education over the years,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Mumin. “I remember when Reading School District was one of the most underfunded and under-resourced school districts in the Commonwealth. Today, thanks to the historic investments that Governor Shapiro has made two years in a row — the focus and attention that this Administration has given to education in Pennsylvania and the commitment to continuing that support — our schools are poised for generations of greatness.”

The 2024-25 budget delivers significant progress for K-12 education that will give every student the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed. This budget includes funding for:

• Basic Education Funding: Building on historic investments in the Governor’s first budget, the 2024-25 budget makes another significant down payment in K-12 education funding in Pennsylvania with an increase of $1.1 billion. Of this funding, nearly $526 million will be distributed through a new adequacy formula to drive dollars to the schools that need them most.

• Special Education:  Governor Shapiro’s budget increases special education funding by $100 million to ensure that school districts have the basic resources necessary to provide high-quality special education services to students with disabilities and special needs.

• Cyber Charter Reimbursement: The 2024-2025 budget sets aside $100 million to reimburse schools for payments they must make to cyber charter schools.

• Career and Technical Education and Dual Enrollment: Creating real opportunity for students includes expanding options for them to gain experience, training, and advanced credit for college while still in high school. The Governor’s budget includes a $30 million increase for Career and Technical Education and continues $7 million in support of dual enrollment.

• School Safety and Security and Mental Health Services: Every student deserves to be safe and feel safe in their school. The 2024-25 budget continues a $20 million annual investment in school safety and security improvements and provides $100 million in sustainable funding for environmental repairs and other facility projects in schools - $25 million of which is set aside for solar projects at schools. This budget also delivers $100 million to put more mental health and physical safety resources in our schools.

• Student Health: No student should have to miss school due to not being able to afford basic necessities like menstrual hygiene products. The Governor’s budget invests $3 million to provide menstrual hygiene products at no cost to students in schools.

• Early Childhood Learning: Every child in Pennsylvania deserves the support and resources to succeed, from infancy through adulthood. The budget invests an additional $2.7 million in the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program and an additional $15 million for the Pre-K Counts program.

• Student Teacher Stipends: To further strengthen the educator pipeline and address the education workforce shortage, the 2024-25 budget doubles funding for student teacher stipends, for a total of $20 million to support Pennsylvanians training to become certified and committed educators in the Commonwealth.

The Governor was joined for a ceremonial bill signing by Reading School District Superintendent Dr. Jennifer Murray, Reading Education Association President Brian Benkert, Reading School District 11^th grader Jose Martinez, and local and state legislators.

"The new adequacy formula is a game-changer for the Reading School District, directing essential dollars to public schools that need them most. We are grateful to Governor Shapiro and our state legislators for their commitment to closing the educational funding gap in Pennsylvania,” said Dr. Murray. "As a traditionally underfunded district, the Reading School District welcomes this unprecedented support. These investments represent a critical step toward educational equity, and we are eager to witness the positive impact on our students and educators. We are deeply appreciative to Governor Shapiro, Secretary Mumin, Senator Judy Schwank, Representative Mark Rozzi, Representative Manuel Guzman Jr., and Representative Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz for their unwavering leadership and their commitment to doing what is right for our kids."

“This budget takes a significant step towards fixing the Pennsylvania school budget funding system and putting students across the Commonwealth on an even playing field,” said Benkert. “We're grateful for the leadership that Governor Shapiro has shown in working with a bipartisan committee to invest in our public school students and to the educators and support professionals who teach and serve them every single day.”

“Today, we celebrate the actions taken by our leaders to fund public schools in the Reading School District. For me, this funding means more access to resources like mental health supporters, more teachers, tutoring, and field trips,” said Martinez. “This funding will also enhance the programming at our new STEM school, which is something I'm interested in attending in the coming school year.”

“This year House Democrats fought alongside Governor Shapiro with one singular goal: to reimagine the way we pay for public schools, so we make sure every kid in every school has a chance to succeed — and we got it done," said House Majority Education Committee Chairman Representative Peter Schweyer. “I'm a dad with two kids in Allentown city schools so I see what happens when our students get the same resources and opportunities, and our historic investments in schools like Allentown and Reading, and Wilkes-Barre and Lancaster, are a pathway to a better future for our kids and our entire commonwealth."

"Every student in Pennsylvania deserves access to quality public education. In July, we successfully worked across party lines to pass a state budget that delivers historic increases in K-12 education funding, provides stipends for student teachers, and makes significant investments in essential school-based health services,” said Senator Judy Schwank. “These are achievements we can all be proud of, and I am confident they will make a difference in the Reading School District and beyond."

“I can attest to Governor Shapiro’s steady commitment to education. He has made history by implementing effective solutions and displaying a solid approach,” said Representative Manny Guzman. “Under Shapiro’s leadership, we have created a strong foundation for equality in education. For years, the legislature failed to address the funding disparities that existed in public education across Pennsylvania. Under Governor Shapiro, we’ve finally begun to address those disparities and meet our constitutional obligation to ensure every child has the same opportunity regardless of their address or financial background.”

For more information on how the 2024-25 budget will create opportunity for Pennsylvanians, visit shapirobudget.pa.gov(opens in a new tab).