Delaware County Democrats decry Pa. budget impasse, make final push for SEPTA funding before Senate returns

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The Pennsylvania Senate reconvenes Monday in Harrisburg with the task of delivering a much-delayed budget.

Delaware County’s Democratic legislators gathered Friday morning at the Lansdowne Avenue Trolley Station to convey a final message to their Republican colleagues in the upper chamber.

“We need real sustainable funding for our schools and for SEPTA,” state Sen. Tim Kearney said. “We need to get back to Harrisburg to pass a budget that fulfills our constitutional duty to provide for adequate schools.”

SEPTA’s $213 million funding crisis spiraled into a new chapter Thursday following a judge’s order to halt the transit agency’s planned service cuts. Kearney said it is “true” that SEPTA’s cuts will harm disadvantaged communities the most.

“But ordering SEPTA to pay for services with money it doesn’t have makes no sense,” Kearney said. “Even if SEPTA has enough cash in its checking account to pay for services today, when is that money going to run out? Probably by the winter time. And then what? Literally, our kids will be left out in the cold.”

Moody’s Ratings downgraded its financial outlook Wednesday for the transit agency. Lawmakers are divided along party lines regarding how much funding should be allocated for SEPTA. A solution will likely come in the form of a compromise.

Upper Darby School District warns that further budget delays could jeopardize extracurricular activities

The budget impasse is also hurting smaller safety net programs across the commonwealth. Delaware County school districts such as Upper Darby and William Penn sit at a unique intersection of these dual crises. Many students within the two underfunded districts rely on SEPTA to navigate their neighborhoods.

“Easily, 50% of those students come down to this train station to trolley stop every single day to get to work, to get home, to pick up loved ones and then try to make their way back to extracurricular opportunities — that in some ways are in jeopardy without funding,” said Daniel McGarry, superintendent of Upper Darby School District.

State Rep. Gina Curry said this is not simply a matter of “inconvenience.”

“SEPTA is not just buses, subways and trains,” Curry said. “SEPTA is a lifeline. It connects our communities, fuels our economy and ensures that people, no matter their age, income, or background, can get where they need to go. If SEPTA’s service is cut, the impact will ripple across every corner in this commonwealth.”