Urban schools, including Greater Johnstown, seek more dollars at statewide events

Mar. 29—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Although the Fair Funding Lawsuit was ruled in favor of state school districts, a gathering Tuesday at Greater Johnstown High School reiterated how additional dollars can benefit urban schools throughout Pennsylvania and that there's still work to be done.

This event was held in conjunction with sister conferences in the School District of Lancaster, East Allegheny, Bethlehem Area and Upper Darby school districts organized by the Pennsylvania League of Urban Schools, a caucus of the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.

One by one, area school leaders, students, a teacher, a parent and community members spoke about the economic disparity between urban and suburban school districts as well as the significant benefit emergency funding from the COVID-19 pandemic provided.

"This should not be necessary," Altoona Area Superintendent Charles Prijatelj said. "We should not be begging to get adequate funding to fuel the No. 1 economic driver in Pennsylvania (public schools)."

He spoke alongside Greater Johnstown Superintendent Amy Arcurio and student Elijah Gibson, NAACP Johnstown Chapter Vice President Deacon Jeffrey Wilson, Johnstown Redevelopment Authority Executive Director and Greater Johnstown parent Melissa Komar and former Greater Johnstown superintendent and state Secretary of Education Gerald Zahorchak.

Prijatelj told the crowd that adding state funding to public schools will only help continue to build stronger communities.

He added that if his district fails, that means the Altoona area will also fail.

Other topics touched on by Tuesday's speakers included the reported financial "drain" cyber and charter schools are on public education and inequitable funding between Pennsylvania schools.

Arcurio said there's an alleged $3.7 billion funding gap among school districts across the state and that less-wealthy school districts such as hers have to make hard decisions to make ends meet. Because of the Johnstown area's low property values, the schools are funded primarily through state and federal subsidies, as well as grants.

"How can urban school districts be expected to continue to do more with less?" Arcurio asked.

She also noted that she and the other school leaders are not asking for a bigger piece of the pie, but rather a big funding pie altogether.

Because of the ruling of the Fair Funding Lawsuit, that's what the state legislators now have to figure out.

Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer, who presided over the case, determined in February that those who live in low-income and low-property value districts are deprived of the same opportunities and resources as learners in wealthier schools.

It's now up to the elected officials to fix that and fulfill their constitutional duty, according to the order.

Within Gov. Josh Shapiro's budget proposal, which the Legislature is now holding hearings on, he recommended a massive $1 billion increase in public education spending.

If that goes through, Greater Johnstown is expected to receive roughly $3 million in basic education monies and around $316,000 in special education dollars.

That is similar to the money the district saw with COVID-19 boosts, which were used to hire mental health counselors, social workers, paraprofessionals, undergo infrastructure upgrades and several other supports.

Gibson covered some of the improvements made throughout the past three years in his speech and how those changes have benefited Greater Johnstown students.

Second-grade teacher Stacy Ford touched on a similar subject, telling the crowd how fulfilling it is to see her students succeed when there's money for better curriculum and programs, and Wilson spoke about how it is "imperative the funding be fair."

Zahorchak provided the example of how a student may enter the elementary school having never seen a book in his or her life, struggle with food insecurity and be years behind his or her peers and how additional funding will help a district, such as Greater Johnstown, overcome those barriers.

Similar events to Tuesday's have been held throughout the years, such as the call for funding reform in 2019 at Greater Johnstown High School.

Arcurio acknowledged that this isn't her or the district's first time dealing with the matter, nor will it be the last because despite progress, the schools are still in the same place.

"We will hold press conferences like this across the commonwealth until our stories are heard," she said.