As students across the Commonwealth return to school, the 2024-25 budget signed by Governor Shapiro includes a historic $1.1 billion increase for K-12 education — marking the largest single-year investment in the Commonwealth’s history.
Morrisville, PA – Today, Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Education Secretary Dr. Khalid N. Mumin visited Morrisville Middle/Senior High School in Bucks County on the first day of school to meet with students, teachers, and legislators and highlight investments in K-12 public education secured in the 2024-25 budget.
As students across the Commonwealth return to school, they are benefitting from substantial new investments secured by Governor Shapiro and a bipartisan group of legislators. The 2024-25 budget includes a historic $1.1 billion in total increases in K-12 public education funding, the largest year-over-year increase in Commonwealth history. This budget delivers significant progress on building strong and safe school communities, adequately and equitably funding public schools, supporting our teachers, and ensuring that every Pennsylvania child has the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed.
«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 Governor Shapiro. “This budget builds on our progress by boosting investments in student teacher stipends, mental health resources, and essential school repairs while also improving how we allocate funding, with a new formula that directs dollars to the schools that need them most.”
Morrisville Middle/Senior High School is part of Morrisville Borough School District, which will benefit from the 2024-25 bipartisan budget’s investments. This district is set to receive approximately $5.7 million for the 2024-25 school year thanks to this budget – an increase of over $200,000 compared to last year. The district serves more than 830 students across three schools: Grandview Elementary School, Morrisville Intermediate School, and Morrisville Middle/Senior High School.
«It’s thrilling to be here today with Governor Shapiro, along with students, teachers, and staff as we kick off a new school year. Reflecting on my time as a superintendent, I’m both amazed and inspired by how much education has evolved. But no matter how much changes, the start of a new school year always brings a sense of joy, renewal, and endless possibilities,» said Secretary of Education Dr. Mumin. «What makes this moment even more special is knowing that, thanks to Governor Shapiro’s historic investments for two consecutive years and the unwavering focus this Administration has placed on education in Pennsylvania, our schools are not just improving — they’re poised for generations of greatness.”
The 2024-25 budget delivers significant progress for K-12 education that will give every student the freedom to chart their own course and the opportunity to succeed. This budget includes funding for:
· Historic Basic Education Funding: Building on the investments in the Governor’s first budget, the 2024-25 budget makes another historic down payment in K-12 education funding in Pennsylvania with an increase of $1.1 billion. Of this funding, nearly $526 million will be distributed through a new adequacy formula to drive dollars to the schools that need them most.
· Increases to Special Education: Governor Shapiro’s budget increases special education funding by $100 million to ensure that school districts have the basic resources necessary to provide high-quality special education services to students with disabilities and special needs.
· Cyber Charter Reimbursement: The 2024-2025 budget sets aside $100 million to reimburse schools for payments they must make to cyber charter schools.
· Career and Technical Education and Dual Enrollment: Creating real opportunity for students includes expanding options for them to gain experience, training, and advanced credit for college while still in high school. The Governor’s budget includes a $30 million increase for Career and Technical Education and continues $7 million in support of dual enrollment.
· School Safety and Security and Mental Health Services: Every student deserves to be safe and feel safe in their school. The 2024-25 budget continues a $20 million annual investment in school safety and security improvements and provides $100 million in sustainable funding for environmental repairs and other facility projects in schools – $25 million of which is set aside for solar projects at schools. This budget also delivers $100 million to put more mental health and physical safety resources in our schools.
· Providing Period Products for Students: No student should have to miss school due to not being able to afford basic necessities like menstrual hygiene products. The Governor’s budget invests $3 million to provide menstrual hygiene products at no cost to students in schools.
· Investing in Early Childhood Learning: Every child in Pennsylvania deserves the support and resources to succeed, from infancy through adulthood. The budget invests an additional $2.7 million in the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program and an additional $15 million for the Pre-K Counts program.
· Universal Free Breakfast for Students: Students cannot be expected to focus, learn, and succeed on an empty stomach. The Governor’s budget ensures that 1.7 million students across Pennsylvania will receive free breakfast at school, regardless of their income.
· Supporting Student Teacher Stipends: To further strengthen the educator pipeline and address the education workforce shortage, the 2024-25 budget doubles funding for student teacher stipends, for a total of $20 million to support Pennsylvanians training to become certified and committed educators in the Commonwealth.
The Governor was joined for a ceremonial bill signing by Morrisville Borough School District Superintendent Dr. Andrew Doster, Morrisville Middle/Senior High School teacher Elizabeth Glaum-Lathbury and student Laila Waters, as well as local and state legislators.
“The passage of the 2024-25 budget means additional dollars for staff, books, and safety and security measures for student; increases in basic education funding; investments in student mental health and free breakfast for our students; and increases in special education funding, cyber charter reimbursement, student health, and early childhood learning,” said Dr. Doster. “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 to further advance the ability of PA public schools – and specifically here at Morrisville – to create dynamic environments that meet the needs and challenge all of our learners and our school.”
“As a teacher, it’s important to me to give our students experiences that maybe they wouldn’t have access to outside of our building. The increased funding in the 2024-25 budget will certainly be put to good use by all of our teachers, and of course, all teachers across the Commonwealth. I’m grateful for this historic support for students by our Governor and the General Assembly,” said Glaum-Lathbury.
“It is an honor to introduce Governor Josh Shapiro, who has worked with our General Assembly to make sure students across the Commonwealth, such as me, and all students have access to great public education and opportunities to get us started for where we want to go with our careers and our futures,” said Waters, a senior at Morrisville High School.
“I want the thank Governor Shapiro for his leadership in Harrisburg to get this significant increase in education funding done,” said Senator Steve Santarsiero. “Because we talk a lot about numbers in Harrisburg, but he understands that those numbers are represented in the faces of these students and teachers here today.”
“I want to thank Governor Shapiro for his leadership in shepherding through a divided legislature a bipartisan budget that invests in our students, our communities, and our taxpayers,” said Representative Jim Prokopiak. “The $1.1 billion dollar increase in education funding is a necessary first step to ensure that we fulfill our constitutional duty to fund public education and will allow all of our students to pursue the American dream, while also working to reduce the burden on property owners.”
For more information on how the 2024-25 budget will create opportunity for Pennsylvanians, visit shapirobudget.pa.gov.
