Advocates Demonstrate Locally For Better Education Funding Across Pennsylvania
By Jim Melwert
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Advocates for better state funding for education in Pennsylvania took their cause to the steps of the courthouses today in Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties.
Norristown school district superintendent Janet Samuels pointed out that Pennsylvania is one of only three states in the United States that doesn't have a basic formula to distribute resources fairly and consistently to districts across the state.
"Pennsylvania has one of the widest gaps between the wealthy and less-endowed, or poorer, school districts as compared to any other state in this country," she said.
And that, she says, forces her district, like so many others in the state, to rely heavily on local resources such as real estate taxes.
"It matters not what county or area that one lives in as Pennsylvanians, we will all be affected in one way or another by the unfair burden that's placed upon our educational system in this state," she said.
The presentation also featured actors reading a monologue called "School Play," excerpts of interviews from school officials, teachers, parents, and students.