PA Senator Introducing Bill To Address Inequitable School Funding
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- State Senator Vincent Hughes made a stop at an Overbrook Elementary School on Thursday as he continued his campaign to make the funding of public schools more equitable.
Senator Hughes and about a half dozen school funding advocates stood outside Cassidy Elementary, ranked by the Philadelphia School District as the school most in need of repairs.
It'll take $25 million to turn it around. Hughes pointed to a polar opposite less than two miles away.
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"Lower Merion High School doesn't have problems with water, doesn't have problems with potential lead, doesn't have the same issues that exist here. There are two separate and distinct education systems in this state and they are unequal," said Hughes.
Inequity is just one facet of an overall school funding problem that includes a $4.5 billion repair bill.
Hughes is introducing a bill that would create a statewide school facilities initiative. But it hinges on funding from a tax on natural gas fracking, something lawmakers in Harrisburg have steadfastly refused to approve.