HARRISBURG, PA (April 22nd, 2015) – A group of 50 young voters from southeastern Pennsylvania rallied in Harrisburg Wednesday to call on the Pennsylvania Legislature to adopt a fair and equitable funding formula for schools in this year’s budget.
“Young voters like us are excited and hopeful about making our state better and we know we can’t do that from the sidelines,” said Shanee Garner, Education Director for PCCY who organized the day of action. “This year is a great opportunity for Pennsylvania to finally get on track with fairly funding its schools and I hope lawmakers will take notice that there are over two million young voters in the state and we want our schools to be supported. That starts with eliminating a system where your zip code determines the level of funding your school gets.”
The young men and women visited their local State Representatives and Senators as well as House and Senate leaders to urge them to support a funding formula that distributes funding fairly and is based on the real costs to educate children.
“Recent discussion in Harrisburg about the need for a school funding formula is good, but it’s not enough,” said David Lapp, Staff Attorney for the Education Law Center. “We need our lawmakers to know that a formula only works if it is designed to equitably distribute sustained funding that is adequate to ensure all students receive a quality public education.”
Young voters are supported by 24 diverse organizations and businesses serving children and families including A Way to Donate, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Coalition of Residents for Yeadon, Congreso De Latinos Unidos, Education Law Center, Education Voters of PA, Friends of Greenfield, Friends of Jackson, Investing in Ourselves, Mehducation, Mighty Writers, Neighbors Investing in Childs Elementary, OLIN, Philadelphia Education Fund, Philadelphia Reads, Philadelphia Youth Network, Philly CORE Leaders, POWER, Public Citizens for Children and Youth, Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, Resource Generation: Philly Chapter, United Way of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey, University Community Collaborative, Urban Affairs Coalition, and WEPAC.
