‘We have waited too long': Philly mayor calls for increased state funds for education

Philadelphia officials, including Mayor Cherelle Parker, school district representatives and others, made a call to state legislators in an effort to gain an increase in funding for the city's school system on Tuesday.

"Philadelphia parents and families know all to well the impact of chronic, historic underfunding to our schools," Parker said.

On Tuesday, Parker said that, earlier this week, she sent a letter to Governor Josh Shapiro and state legislators asking for the funding increase.

She wants a budget that "fully funds Philadelphia's public schools and permanently closes, what we refer to as, the adequacy funding gap."

"Our funding gap is $1.4 billion dollars. Yes, that isn't a mistake," she said. "That's $1.4 billion dollars with a B."

Parker has called for that gap to be closed over the next seven years, and called for $242 million for the upcoming year.

She said that the city's budget increased funding for schools by $129 million -- throughout a five-year plan -- and it was time for state officials to chip in to help students throughout Philadelphia.

"We have waited too long. We have done our part," said Parker. "We are now looking to Harrisburg to ensure that our students have the future that they deserve."

During the day, Tony Watlington, the superintendent of the city's public school system, said that the needed funds would provide a quality education for students.

"We know that inadequate funding has harmed children across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including in this fine city, the city of Philadelphia for a number of years and decades," he said.

New funds, he said, would help fund improvements to school facilities, extended school hours, relaunch a program to help parents support their children, hire more teachers and other initiatives.

This call for new funding comes in the heels of a recent $300 million scholarship plan announced by Roc Nation, an entertainment company founded by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, that is intended to help children in grades K-12 from low-income households afford to attend one of the city's array of private schools.

Statewide, a recent report found the public school system is currently underfunded by more than $5 billion.

As presented earlier this year, Gov. Shapiro's proposed budget would invest $1.1 billion dollars in new funding this year into schools across the state.

The proposed budget would add an additional $50 million into special education and another $30 million would be invested into Pre-K programs to help recruit and retain teachers.

Also, in order to repair and improve schools and educational infrastructure across the state, Shapiro's budget would set aside aside $1.5 billion – including $300 million this year alone – for improvements.

If the budget is approved as proposed, the city would get what Parker requested: more than $242 million next year and nearly $1.4 billion more over the next seven years.

Shapiro's budget is currently being reviewed by state legislators. They have until June 30 to complete their review of the document.