Philadelphia leaders press state officials to step up education funding during visit to Harrisburg

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

A road trip with a cause had Philadelphia city leaders and education supporters crossing Pennsylvania to push state officials in Harrisburg for school funding.

Mayor Cherelle Parker, City Council President Kenyatta Johnson and Superintendent Tony Watlington were just a few among those who traveled to the state capitol Monday. The visit comes on the heels of a promised push to secure more financial support for the district following the city’s newly approved budget.

Parker said the city has done its part and is now asking the state to step up.

She said that in previous trips to Harrisburg, Republican lawmakers told the city to provide more funding before they would increase the state’s investment in education. She said the city has fulfilled its commitment and urged the legislature to direct more funding to schools across Pennsylvania, not just Philadelphia.

“Philadelphia, we are not alone,” she said. “Urban, suburban and rural districts across the state of Pennsylvania are facing the same challenges. We have more in common … leaders in other counties lack the resources needed to address the challenges in their specific region.”

Johnson called it a modern civil rights issue.

“We can debate a variety of issues. But in this society, the education of young people determines the quality of their lives,” he said.

Johnson said it was time for the General Assembly “to support our young people in the city of Philadelphia.”

He also reminded state officials that they had requested a facilities plan before providing additional funding. City and district officials approved a plan that includes school closings, consolidations and the construction of new schools to replace aging, deteriorating buildings.

Parker said students in Philadelphia understand they live in the birthplace of democracy, because their aging school buildings remind them nearly every day.

“[Lawmakers] are trying to convince our children that they need to learn to compete in the 21st-century global economy in schools that were built during the dinosaur [age],” Parker said. “That has to stop.”

The average Philadelphia public school building is over 70 years old, school officials told WHYY News in 2024, and many still lack adequate air conditioning.

Parker said the state should “double down” on the bipartisan state facilities grant program, increasing it to $250 million to help schools address capital funding needs.

“This matter is of urgent need right now. We cannot expect our children to compete in the era of AI … without funding,” she said.

The city also found funding to preserve 340 jobs over the next four years as part of its budget, and Johnson reminded officials that Philadelphia and the five surrounding counties provide “40% of the funding for the state budget.”