Pa. Dems education plans, spending explosion nod to teachers unions, special interests

Originally published at Delaware County Daily Times

Jay-Z schooled Pennsylvania lawmakers on what’s wrong with education. Rather than call for another blank check for our state’s failing schools, the rapper and his charitable organization, Roc Nation, plan to drum up support for more options in the Keystone State.

To paraphrase Jay-Z, Pennsylvania schools have 99 problems, but funding ain’t one.

In the 2022-23 school year, Pennsylvania Department of Education data show public school funding reached $21,985 per pupil. On top of this record-level spending — seventh highest nationally — Pennsylvania school districts are flush with cash, collectively holding $6.8 billion in reserve funds.

Despite this influx of funds, academic achievement remains alarmingly poor. More than half of Pennsylvania’s fourth graders and nearly 75% of eighth graders cannot perform grade-level math. Test scores were already sliding before the COVID-19 pandemic and have yet to recover from that significant dip.

Read more at Delaware County Daily Times