Well, what do you know. Someone agrees with us. Hold the champagne, though. This isn't a cause for celebration. It's a cause for concern.
For years I have taken up the pulpit on the editorial pages of this paper and harangued anyone who would listen that Pennsylvania's system of education funding is unfair, one that creates an unlevel playing field that unduly penalizes a lot of kids for no other reason than their zip code.
In other words, the state is divided into the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' when it comes to education funding. Too many kids in Delaware County, like the kids and families in the William Penn School District, are facing a decidedly uphill battle before they ever enter a classroom.
Yesterday the Pew Charitable Trusts released a study that said the state direly needs a new education funding formula. It's something we have been urging for years. The state actually put one in place after a costing-out study was done in 2012, but it was dropped early in the Corbett Administration as being too costly.
The Pew folks agree with our assessment, the current lack of an adequate formula creates deep divides beteen urban and suburban districts. It's pretty simple. When schools in more well-to-do districts need more money, they simply turn to their tax base. A lot of districts in urban areas and other economically challenged towns don't have that luxury.
Pennsylvania is one of just three states that currently does not have a formula, joining Delaware and North Carolina.
Shame on us for allowing this system to fester this long.
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