Allegheny Traditional Academy, a K-5 school on the North Side, needs about $10 million worth of “significant” capital improvements just so it can remain functional and safe for teachers and students.
Pittsburgh Public Schools Superintendent Anthony Hamlet highlighted the building, which was built in 1904, during a news conference at the school Thursday in which he and several other local educators and advocates called on the Pennsylvania Legislature to provide better funding for public schools.
“To do what is right for our kids, we must acknowledge the financial stressors that our district is under,” Mr. Hamlet said. “I look forward to working with members of the Legislature, the Pennsylvania Department of Education and to ensure students in Pittsburgh Public Schools receive the valuable resources they deserve.”
He was joined by state Sen. Lindsey Williams, D-West View, PPS board member Sylvia Wilson; Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers President Nina Esposito-Visgitis; and Angel Gober, an education organizer with ONE Pennsylvania.
During brief remarks, they called on the state to invest more in its public schools, particularly in programs like PlanCon for capital improvement and building projects. They want lawmakers to reject proposed legislation they believe will weaken school district oversight on charter schools they want to prevent the expansion of the Education Improvement Tax Credit program.
“I am truly honored to stand alongside these fierce advocates for public education in order to ask for all supporters of public education to raise their voices against some disturbing legislation that has arisen and to support critical school funding issues that will be up for debate and consideration in Harrisburg when the legislative sessions convene next week,” Ms. Esposito-Visgitis said.
She noted that Pennsylvania ranks in the bottom of all states for educational funding. “Though Gov. (Tom) Wolf has supported education by increasing funding each year since he was elected — and we do appreciate that — it’s unacceptable for a state that leads in so many ways.”
During the news conference, the group decried proposed legislation regarding facilities that charter schools can use and creating a uniform application process for new charter schools; a $100 million expansion of the EITC private school scholarship program, which Ms. Williams called a “back door voucher program;” the makeup of the Charter Appeals Board, whose members were appointed years ago by former Gov. Tom Corbett; and funding for cyber charter schools, which they argue should be lower because they have lower overhead costs than brick-and-mortar schools.
Public school districts pay charter schools “tuition” for students who live within their borders and attend a charter school. Some of the speakers argued that the schools and the EITC program siphon money from schools and students who need the most resources.
“We all know that one of the best investments we can make as a commonwealth is in education,” Ms. Williams said. “Our collective future depends on making sure that everyone has access to a quality education, from early childhood, to K though 12, to career and technical education to post-secondary. Thankfully, Pennsylvania may be right near the bottom, but we have a governor who has made strategic investments over the past four years to move that line. But we have a lot of work to do, we need to continue to increase those investments all the way along the board.”
Elizabeth Behrman: Lbehrman@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1590 or @Ebehrman on Twitter.
First Published: May 30, 2019, 9:25 p.m.
