Ciresi highlights historic investment in education, cyber charter reform in PA budget

Southeast Delegation    July 11, 2024 | 6:30 PM

HARRISBURG, July 11 – After his vote to approve the state budget tonight, state Rep. Joe Ciresi highlighted its progress in delivering historic education funding and investing in Pennsylvanians without raising taxes as the reasons for his support.

Pennsylvania’s 2024-25 budget includes $1.3 billion in funding for public schools statewide, including reforms to the state’s cyber charter school law to require transparency in advertising and reducing special education overpayments by better aligning tuition to the real cost of educating students. Ciresi had proposed cyber charter reforms in his H.B. 1422, which passed the House with bipartisan support last year.

“This budget delivers historic progress for public education, investing more than a billion new dollars in our schools and relieving overburdened property taxpayers,” Ciresi said. “Even though we have more work to do, we’ve also taken an important step for the first time in reforming our broken charter school law by ensuring transparency in cyber charter school advertising, providing relief to school districts paying for mandatory charter school costs, and returning $60 million each year back to the taxpayers. Our successes in delivering more funding for local schools has given them more resources for students and let them rely less on property taxes, and I look forward to seeing that continue with this budget.”

Locally, the budget increases funding for Montgomery County school districts, including over $7.3 million in increased funding and cost savings for school districts in the 146th Legislative District: 

  • Pottstown School District: $4,275,484 increase.
  • Spring-Ford Area School District: $1,672,115 increase.
  • Pottsgrove School District: $1,383,628 increase.

“In addition to making progress on our commitment to our public schools, with this budget we’re investing in all of Pennsylvania to help grow and expand our economy,” Ciresi said. “This budget includes investments to help revitalize downtowns like Pottstown’s and Royersford’s, improve and maintain our infrastructure, help more students go to college and remain here in PA after graduating, and address our significant issues with housing affordability and homelessness.”

Among other highlights, the budget includes the following funding increases and new investments: 

  • Making sure every child can learn in a safe and healthy learning environment by investing $100 million to clean up and improve school facilities and eliminate health hazards like asbestos and lead, while also investing $100 million for school safety and resources for students in crisis.
  • Creating a new Grow Pennsylvania Scholarship Program to help students afford the cost of higher education and keep them here in Pennsylvania after they graduate.
  • Helping address the housing affordability and homelessness crises with a $5 million funding increase (27%) for Homeless Assistance; investing more in affordable housing, eviction prevention, and homelessness assistance through the PA Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) fund; and helping municipalities provide housing to residents in emergencies.
  • Increasing funding by $261 million (11.4%) for the intellectual disabilities community waiver program and by $71 million (8%) for mental health services, making sure Pennsylvanians have access to the supports and services they need and helping providers addresses workforce shortages and ensure the availability of care.
  • Investing hundreds of millions of dollars in roads, bridges, and public transportation to improve Pennsylvania’s infrastructure, address our residents’ transportation needs, and help drive our economy forward.
  • Funding a new $20 million “Main Street Matters” initiative to invest in communities’ main streets, supporting small businesses and driving downtown revitalization.