Philly schools getting far less than requested as Pa. Senate advances budget

This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.

by Holly Otterbein for Newsworks

The Pennsylvania Senate has advanced a budget that increases Philadelphia’s basic education funding by $14 million next year, far short of the additional $120 million requested by School District officials.

The GOP-led Senate Appropriations Committee approved the spending plan Saturday night, 16-10. It must now be approved by the full Senate and House.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Jake Corman (R-Bellefonte) said that the budget makes a "significant investment" in schools, including more than $120 million in new basic education funding statewide.

"As always, there’s areas that we would like to have probably made stronger investments in," Corman said. "But we can only spend what we have."

Sen. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia) said that the budget is inadequate.

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