Long before the current state budget delay left districts scrambling to cover expenses, some Chester County schools were already struggling with inadequate funding. Nearly half of Chester County’s students (47%) attend five school districts that have faced decades of chronic underfunding. Avon Grove, Coatesville, Downingtown, Kennett, and Oxford received their first installment of adequacy funding in 2024, totaling $9 million. Yet, more than $70 million is still needed to close the gap.
The Coatesville Area School District and Children First convened law makers, superintendents, school board members, administrators, students, and senior citizens to discuss how the boost of adequacy funding, or lack thereof, can affect district programs and tax payers in a wide variety of ways.