Pa. House Reps sound the alarm for school resources

CENTRE COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Over a dozen Pennsylvania state representatives visited a Centre County school to shine a light on issues rural educators are facing.

During the third stop on the Pa. House Majority Save Our Schools tour, the representatives heard from rural educators on key funding, initiatives and resources that they believe are needed for their students to succeed.

“We’re standing up with every child and every educator and every parent in this state, not because it’s a good political move, but because it’s the right move,” Rep. Scott Conklin (D-Centre) said.

The roundtable and rally event was held at Bald Eagle Area Middle and High School.

“We know that a quality education is the great equalizer in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and we need to make sure that we are giving the tools to these students no matter what path they take,” James Orichosky, the Principal at Wingate Elementary School said.

The 14 Democratic representatives gathered in Centre County from counties across the commonwealth.

“School districts like ours suffer from a simple math of a smaller tax base and a reduced headcount,” BEASD Teacher Jennifer Todd said. “So, funding gets redirected everywhere, often to larger, wealthier and often thriving districts.”

The tour comes after a commonwealth court judge ruled in February that Pennsylvania fell short of its constitutional obligation to students in the most underserved school districts.

“From front-line teachers to administrators and school board members, they simply need a hand up so that they can deliver the high-quality education that their students need and deserve,” Rep. Paul Takac (D-Centre) said.

Committee members at the event said the problems voiced by Bald Eagle educators aren’t all that different from other Pennsylvania school districts.

“The things that we talked about today are not unique to Centre County,” Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton (D-Philadelphia/Delaware) said. “They’re issues that affect members, republican and democrat, in other parts of Pennsylvania, so we look forward to galvanizing support.”

Previously, legislation has been targeting addressing teacher shortages and education funding deficits, including a bill passed by the House aimed at recruiting more educators by giving student teachers at least a $10,000 stipend.

“One thing that’s needed is just a signature and the Senate Republican President Pro Temp has chosen not to sign the budget,” McClinton said. “As soon as that budget is signed, that money can get to these schools and to these different entities that are educating our children immediately.”