How far can $12M go? Breaking down Mayor Parker’s education budget proposal

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Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker recently released her annual budget proposal and five-year plan for the city. Her spending requests for education include an annual $12 million for teacher salaries beginning in 2030, $10 million to expand extended-day, extended-year programs, and an additional $4 million for discretionary spending which will be annually sourced through a price hike of $1 per hour for Center City parking.

This year’s budget season arrives when the Philly schools are already facing a looming financial deficit. The 10% of district funds which come from the Department of Education also face an uncertain future after the agency recently gutted 50% of its staff and President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling it.

Amid all the uncertainties, the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers is negotiating a new contract demanding parental leave for teachers and compensation for oversized classes.

Parker’s proposal kicks off what will be months of City Council hearings and negotiations to produce a final budget in June — although, historically, the final product tends to look very similar to the mayor’s initial plan.

Boosting teacher pay with property tax shift

At $2 billion, city funding accounted for just over 40% of the school district’s $4.6 billion dollar budget for the 2024-2025 school year. Last budget season saw the school district’s share of the city’s property tax revenue shift from 55% to 56%, bringing in an additional $24 million for education. Now, Mayor Parker is advocating to bump that up to 56.5%, with the resulting extra $12 million in revenue earmarked for teachers’ salaries. But the change would start in fiscal year 2030.

Overbrook Elementary School Principal Kenneth Glover welcomed a salary boost for teachers, but worries it won’t be enough. He said that some of his teachers work multiple jobs to make ends meet.

“Anything additional is definitely well appreciated,” Glover said. “But how big of an impact will they make with the rising cost of living? This is happening right now before our eyes, and it’s just getting worse.”

Shanée Garner, director of the parent advocacy group Lift Every Voice, said better salaries could help recruit teachers and retain them. She said that teacher vacancies are a significant problem in West and North Philly schools.

“I obviously support teachers getting paid more,” Garner said. “We frankly need a citywide effort — a commitment to teacher retention and recruitment.”

Councilmember and Education Committee Chair Isaiah Thomas said he appreciated the tax shift, but thinks 2030 isn’t soon enough.

“We’re looking at a deficit in the next two years,” Thomas said of the school district. “This, to me, is something that’s extremely alarming.”

He said because of federal and state funding uncertainties, the city should be more aggressive in  funding the school system.

“I think now is the time to try to put up even more money — to ensure that if there is some type of unforeseen action that hurts public education, we’ve already begun to put dollars there,” he said.

Extended school days coming to more Philly schools

Parker’s financial proposal sets aside an additional $10 million to expand the district’s extended-day, extended-year programming. Currently, 20 district schools and five charter schools are served by the policy. The extra funding would bring the total up to 40, adding 10 more district schools and five charters.

The extended-day, extended-year program has, in effect, been more about increasing capacity and access to existing nonprofit programming for students. Glover said he’s hopeful that the change could benefit Overbrook. The school wasn’t in the program’s initial pilot group, but this line item in the budget could open the door for them next year.

“I’m hoping that I can become one of those schools next year if she does open it back up,” Glover said.

Thomas said he’s in favor of additional funding towards the program.

“Anytime young people can do things in a nontraditional academic setting, we’re always going to support that,” Thomas said.

Advocates want more money for ‘Chief of Joy,’ unhoused students and ESL resources

With a series of City Council hearings on education coming up, some advocates are preparing to fight for the additional line items and commitments they want to see in the new fiscal year.

Garner is among them. Her team at Lift Every Voice will testify at a hearing April 4, pushing the school district to commit to hiring a Chief of Joy who would focus on ending overly punitive practices in schools and promote engaging activities.

Attorney Maura McInerny said her team at the Education Law Center plans to advocate for increased funding for homeless students.

Existing money for a homelessness initiative is currently set to run out in June. Philadelphia’s Board of Education directed $2.3 million in one-time spending for the program in October, after the COVID-era federal funds that previously supported it dried up. There’s no clear next step for how to fund the service next year.

“Many of those children are children in the foster care system, students experiencing homelessness, who really need additional targeted dollars to support their education and prepare for life after education,” McInerny said.

The Education Law Center also wants to see a boost in funds for the newcomer programs in the district, which serve immigrant students who speak limited English and need additional resources. Juntos, a South Philly-based immigrant advocacy organization, has urged the district to expand the program’s reach.

Still, McInerny said Parker has been a “strong advocate” in pushing for a larger education budget. She argued that the lion’s share of pressure for increased school funding should be directed towards Harrisburg, as Pennsylvania’s system for education funding was deemed unconstitutional by a judge in 2023.

“The state has the legal obligation to ensure adequate funding for every child in every school district across the Commonwealth,” McInerny said. “The primary role is for the state to provide that funding.”