Will new money for schools lead to better outcomes for students?
A historic lawsuit over equity in school funding has lead to over $1 billion in state money. How will the new influx of effect K-12 education?
Listen 52:10
Students were welcomed back on the first day of school at Franklin S. Edmonds School on August 26, 2024, in Philadelphia's Mount Airy neighborhood. (Amanda Fitzpatrick/WHYY)
Students at over 60 Philly public schools were dismissed early today because of the heat. In the city’s aging schools, modern cooling systems aren’t a given. But maybe someday soon they will be. A historic lawsuit prompted more than a billion dollars in state funding. that is coming their way. The question now: Will this money make a difference for kids? Will this new influx of school funding in Pennsylvania mean better outcomes for students?
Guests
Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg, Senior Attorney at the Public Interest Law Center
David Hardy, President of Girard College and Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation
Tony Watlington, Superintendent of the Philadelphia School District
Jordan Harris, Pennsylvania State Representative and Democratic Chair of the House Appropriations Committee
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Of the districts receiving money, the School District of Philadelphia, where damaged asbestos has repeatedly shuttered schools, received the maximum grant amount.
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Air Date: August 14, 2024 12:00 pm
Listen 51:41