Guzman votes to pass budget, bring $176.7M in funding, including Level Up funds, to Reading School District
Rep. Manuel Guzman June 29, 2021 | 4:01 PM
HARRISBURG, June 26 – State Rep. Manny Guzman, D-Berks, on Friday voted to pass a state budget that will bring $176,767,992 in vital basic, special, and Ready to Learn block grant education funding, including more than $6 million in “Level Up” funds that invest in the poorest school districts, back to Reading School District.
“Investments in communities like the beautiful, burgeoning city of Reading will undoubtedly ripple beyond our city limits,” Guzman said. “And that is especially so when it comes to funding that will help our schools and invest in the children in our community and their education.”
A new initiative called “Level Up,” through which $100 million will be allocated to each of the 100 poorest schools in Pennsylvania, will provide Reading School District with $6.5 million in funding. That’s on top of more than $150.7 million in Pennsylvania’s Basic Education Funding, more than $14.7 million in Special Education Funding and $4.7 million in Ready to Learn Block Grants. The Level Up money can be used to hire more educators, upgrade schools that were built more than a century ago and provide students and faculty with 21st century technology.
“The children in our community and their education must be a top priority,” Guzman said. “For too long, our schools haven’t received the funding they need to meet students’ needs. I have been fighting in Harrisburg to address the unequal funding we get in Reading. As a result of my advocacy, I’m happy to be bringing this funding home.
"This budget will not be a cure-all for the challenges facing our educators, but it will allow children to start on a path to success.”