Gov. Josh Shapiro: Increased funding for public education ‘a giant lift’ for districts like Highlands

Highlands High School senior Gus Narang moved to the district from India in 2017 with dreams of an American education.

“I left my family and everything I knew,” said Narang, a member of the school’s National Honor Society and the marching band’s drum major.

“I knew nothing about this way of life. Heck, I didn’t even know who Michael Jordan was.”

Narang credits the support of his school community for his success and believes that increased state funding for public education will help other teens realize their full potential.

Gov. Josh Shapiro visited Highlands’ staff and students Wednesday to highlight investments in public education secured in the 2024-25 budget — including a $1.1 billion increase, the largest in state history.

“Highlands will get $19 million in this new budget,” Shapiro said, enabling the district to spend more on security, mental health initiatives and STEM education.

He said the creation of an “adequacy formula” will drive dollars to schools that need them most, such as Highlands, which serves about 2,200 students.

“School leaders were not in a position where they could do as much as they wanted to before,” said Shapiro from the high school library, where he was welcomed with high-tempo songs by the marching band.

Inadequate funding had gone unaddressed until this year, Shapiro said, when legislators from both sides of the aisle came together to address the problem.

The district is slated to get a 10% increase in funding — $715,000 more than if the new formula were not enacted, Shapiro said.

Across the budget, there are boosts for special education, cyber charter reimbursement, free breakfasts for all students, career and technical education and female hygiene products in every school.

“It will be a giant lift,” he said.

For Highlands, the additional funding will create smaller class sizes, more hands-on science curriculum and increased security measures.

Assistant Superintendent Cathleen Cubelic said the school will be poised to provide enhanced services and expand early childhood education and mental health programs to uplift students.

“It is a landmark investment in public education,” she said.

Shapiro said that as he travels across the state, he finds that “folks are decent people” who focus on four similar issues no matter where he goes.

“They want really good schools, safe communities, economic opportunities in their neighborhoods and their rights protected,” Shapiro said.

State Rep. Mandy Steele, whose state House district includes the Highlands School District, said she is proud the Legislature could come together in a bipartisan fashion to support children across the state.

“The investments in safety and mental health are desperately needed,” Steele said.

The increase in state funding comes after the state’s Commonwealth Court ruled last year that the state’s formula for funding public schools violated the state constitution.

The decision came after years of legal wrangling. In November 2014, the Pennsylvania Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law Center filed a lawsuit against the state on behalf of six school districts, two statewide associations and several parents, claiming the funding system was inadequate and inequitable.

The lawsuit languished in the court system for years, finally going to trial in 2021. A verdict against the state wasn’t reached until February 2023.

In the ruling, the state was ordered to reform the education funding formula to address what it described as a system that “disproportionately, negatively impacted students who attend schools in low wealth school districts.”

District social studies teacher Michelle Dickerson applauded the new funding. Educators face challenges she couldn’t have imagined when she began her career 20 years ago, Dickerson said.

Smaller class sizes and increased programming will expose students to experiences and coursework to help shape their future, she said.

“A true commitment to public education comes not only with money but with time and energy,” Dickerson said. “Students thrive when everyone commits to support our schools.”