Hello everyone,

We have some good news and some not-so-good news to share.

First, the good news: our state lawmakers in Harrisburg have voted to maintain funding for education in Pennsylvania for SY2020-2021 at current levels. This has allowed the Philadelphia’s Board of Education to unanimously pass a $3.5 billion budget for the 2020-21 school year today, without making any drastic budget cuts. This will provide much needed stability for the Philadelphia School District as administrators and staff plan for the coming school year in this highly complex and uncertain time.

Now, the not-so-good news: the cuts may still come. State lawmakers will be faced with the same budgetary decisions around this time next year. While our school district has been granted a temporary reprieve, we still need to let our lawmakers in Harrisburg know that education is always a priority, even in times of hardship, and that funding for our schools--and the children and families who rely upon them--should never be on the chopping block.

We have updated the verbiage of our petition to reflect this and we hope that you will continue to share it widely so that we can send a clear message to Harrisburg that education needs to remain a budgetary priority not only for this coming year, but beyond. Thank you for your support! Let's keep it going!

Best wishes,

Kim Massare