Gov. Josh Shapiro and local Democratic state representatives visited Lower Bucks County on Tuesday to celebrate the state’s 2024-2025 budget, which includes a first-in-state-history $1.1 billion increase in education funding.
Speaking at Morrisville Borough Middle/Senior High School shortly after students and staff arrived for the first day of classes, the governor and Pennsylvania Department of Education Secretary Dr. Khalid Mumin noted the state is spending $11 billion on education and focusing on K-12 schools.
The governor said a new adequacy formula will allocate $256 million for distribution to districts in need, special education funding will grow by $100 million, school districts will be able to receive part of $100 million for cyber charter reimbursement, and there is more money for mental health services in schools, safety programs, and career training.
The governor and education secretary, a former school administrator in Bucks County, also touted funding more early childhood learning, universal free breakfast for kids across the state, teacher recruitment stipends, and money for menstrual hygiene products for girls in school.
“I was proud to sign a bipartisan budget this summer that commits a historic $11 billion to K-12 public education in Pennsylvania – including $1.1 billion more than last year, the largest increase in commonwealth history. Investing in our children’s future is a top priority, and under my Administration, we’re delivering for them,” said Shapiro.
Shapiro, noting there was bipartisan support for education funding in Harrisburg, said the impacts will be felt in local districts, including Morrisville Borough, where an additional $200,000 in state dollars will be allocated this budget year.
The change in state funding follows a 2023 Commonwealth Court ruling that said the state’s public education funding formula was unconstitutional and inequitable. The court directed Shapiro and the legislature to resolve the issue.
Mumin, who recalled his excitement at the start of the new school year, said the day is special because students are returning and more money is being spent on students.
Answering a question from a Morrisville High School student, the governor said the increase in spending, which he hopes to continue next budget, was done without raising taxes.
Morrisville Borough School District Superintendent Dr. Andrew Doster, who recently started working in the district, said the additional funding will help pay for “staff, books, and safety and security measures.”
“Our district is very grateful for these dollars, and it is my honor to say thank you to our governor and our elected officials for all their efforts and making education funding a priority. It is our wish that these efforts and increases in funding continue into the future,” he said.
Morrisville Borough teacher Elizabeth Glaum-Lathbury and high school senior Laila Waters both commended the legislature and governor on the additional funding, noting the importance of public education.
State Rep. Jim Prokopiak, a former Pennsbury School Board member, commended the governor for pushing for an increase in education funding.
State Sen. Steve Santarsiero, a former Bensalem Township School District teacher, said the money being spent on education is “represented in the faces of these students and teachers here today.”
Shapiro has supported a voucher system that would allow taxpayer funds to support private school tuition in low-performing schools. Despite Republican support, Shapiro was unable to secure enough backing from his own party.
The event also featured a number of officials from school systems throughout the county, including the Bucks County Intermediate Unit.
