Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters . HARRISBURG — Fifty Pennsylvania school districts with serious property tax burdens will receive an extra $32 million as part of a sweeping effort to overhaul education funding in this year’s budget.
The supplements, which range from $50,000 to $5 million, target districts with high local taxes compared to the wealth of their residents. Many of the districts that will receive a supplement are in Allegheny County or the Philadelphia collar counties. State law directs local school boards to use the money to mitigate or prevent property tax increases, supplement existing tax reduction programs, or reduce debt.
The tax equity supplements are part of a larger effort to respond to a Commonwealth Court decision that found Pennsylvania’s public school funding system is unconstitutionally inequitable. A central part of the inequity stems from property taxes. Pennsylvania districts rely heavily on them to fund education , which causes disparities between schools.
In responding to the ruling, lawmakers have focused most of their energy on aiding the poorest districts. Democrats who control the state House, Republicans who control the Senate, and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro agreed in this year’s state budget to increase K-12 education by more than $1 bill.