The School District of Philadelphia‘s funding system significantly affects communities in North Philadelphia, prompting various proposals to address its flaws. A former Methodist Services after-school program employee advocates for the district to allocate a budget for essential supplies that many students from low-income families may not have access to at home. Meanwhile, school administrators seek control over after-school program finances, arguing they better understand their students’ educational needs than third-party programs funded by the city. Experts from the Education Law Center emphasize that equity is impossible without adequate funding and have been working to ensure success for all students. This effort follows a landmark ruling by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, which declared the state’s school budgeting system unconstitutional.
Since the closure of the Methodist Services after-school program at Paul L. Dunbar Elementary School, former employee Nariah Anne Jewett Johnson has raised concerns about the lack of support from the School District for students from low-income families with absent parents. The program had provided essentials like hygiene products, school supplies, and uniforms—resources not allocated by school administrators in North Philadelphia elementary schools. She argues for equal access to hygiene resources that increase academic performance and reduce insecurities.
“If students feel insecure and unfit, they may focus more on their hygiene than on their schoolwork,” Johnson said. “Providing hygiene products for students who need them could help level the playing field. It is in no way the child’s fault for being brought up in a low-income setting with absent parents, and Philadelphia needs to recognize that.”
According to the 2020 US Census, the mean household income in Philadelphia City, Pennsylvania is $35,553, and the poverty rate is 22.7%. This means that about a quarter of individuals in Philadelphia live below the poverty line. According to the Census data, Philadelphia has among the highest poverty rates of cities in the United States.
A School administrator in North Philadelphia, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, says they ensure students have access to all supplies and resources needed for academic success within the budget allocated by the School District and through donations.
“We receive supplies from various sources including significant contributions from Temple University and other organizations,” this administrator said. “My predecessors and I were committed to ensuring students and teachers have the supplies they needed”.
They argue that the primary issue with school funding is third-party organizations running after-school programs without a clear understanding of students’ needs.
“The city hires agencies to oversee all community programs,” this administrator says, “which creates a disconnect between these programs and the actual needs of individual schools. I think the city should allocate that funding directly to school administrators, allowing them to set up after-school programs tailored to their students”.
According to Out-of-School Time, the City Office of Children and Families provides $23 million in funding for Out-of-School Time, the largest provider of free after-school programs in Philadelphia. While the programs are funded by the Office of Children and Families, they are not operated or endorsed by the city. Some administrators argue that this funding should be redirected to support teachers instead of Out-of-School Time programs.
“Each school is different, and administrators would be better positioned to ensure the staff running these programs are qualified,” administrators say, “While it would take time and dedication, schools should have the option to design programs that suit their community.”
According to the “Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Budget” booklet, the Philadelphia Board of Education adopted a total operating budget of approximately $4.5 billion. The district uses a predetermined formula to allocate budgets and staff to each school based on various factors listed on page 9 of the Guide to School Budget. These factors include but are not limited to, student enrollment, extracurricular activities, and discretionary funds. Additional information about school funding for elementary schools in North Central Philadelphia is available in the Infographic below.
Paul Socolar, a communications specialist with the Education Law Center, argues that the Philadelphia School District’s overall budget is too small to fully ensure each student receives adequate funding.
“There can be no equity when there is not adequate funding,” Socolar says, “we would be quibbling over how to divide up a too-small pie”.
Socolar argues that teachers have historically had the biggest complaints about school budgeting, arguing that the leveling process was unfair.
“But the big complaints that you hear about with budget allocations to Philly schools often have to do with what happens when a school ends up with more or fewer students than were expected.”
The district decided to avoid a process called leveling this year, a process in which some teachers were reassigned to different schools or let go several weeks into the school year to ensure adequate and equal funding for students. Originally intended to fairly distribute funding and teachers based on student populations, the practice caused classroom disturbances. To avoid leveling, the district reallocated up to $8.8 million from Central Office Cuts and Energy Savings.
Please email any questions or concerns about this story to: [email protected]
Be the first to comment