The School District of Lancaster joined urban school districts across the state to host a simultaneous press conference on the need for increased funding and charter school reform. The School District of Lancaster on Tuesday hosted the superintendents of Pottstown and Reading School Districts. McCaskey Senior Frances Brogan’s remarks from the conference are below.
I believe public schools will save the world. And that’s because education is the greatest catalyst for change. The more you know, the more you question. And the more you question, the more you realize the status quo isn’t working. You become an active political participant instead of a complacent bystander.
When I think about fair funding I think about political engagement. An equitable education empowers students to advocate for themselves outside of school, to identify problems in their communities and pursue solutions.
With more funding, we can improve transportation to and from school. We can buy up-to-date textbooks and more computers. We can bolster college and career services. And we can begin to rectify structural inequities by diversifying advanced classes. I’m an IB Diploma student. I know how fantastic McCaskey’s IB program is. But it is so limited in who it reaches, and so socially and racially homogenous. Only 17% of IB Diploma candidates are students of color, even though our total minority enrollment is 85%. Research shows that a racially and economically diverse educational environment benefits students of all social classes. Fair funding will help us prepare historically disadvantaged students at the elementary and middle school level for an academically rigorous high school curriculum. Right now, our inadequate resources are disproportionately afforded to those who are already resourced. It is my fervent hope that fairer funding will change that.
Recently, Manheim Township High School’s IB program embarked on a service trip to Ecuador. Manheim Township School District’s budget dwarfs our own. We never asked for a trip to Ecuador. We simply asked for the resources we need to better serve our own community, right here in Lancaster.
In this disheartening, polarized political moment, the fair funding verdict is a reminder that sometimes, social justice work does bear fruit. But it’s essential for us to remember that our fight is far from over. Governor Shapiro’s education budget remains insufficient. We need a $750 million increase in the basic education budget. We need another $400 million in Level Up funding directed to 100 of the state’s highest-need school districts, including ours, to begin the process of reparations for decades of state-sanctioned neglect.